The Puna Kai Shopping Center is not for sale, claims its developer, despite the property appearing in an online real estate listing.
A since-deleted online listing on the website RealNex.com for the shopping center posted by national real estate firm Institutional Property Advisors asked for $68 million for the 9.9-acre parcel, and offered “a rare opportunity to acquire a new construction, fee simple, 113,000-square foot, 100% leased, grocery-anchored shopping center on the Big Island of Hawaii.”
The listing went on to describe the shopping center as an attractive “town square” for the region, which it attributed to community activities and a “synergistic mix of tenants.” It also described the growing population of Puna and the rising home values of the area.
Both the center’s owner and a real estate agent on Tuesday said that the property is not for sale, although they briefly offered conflicting statements.
Puna Kai’s developer Gary Pinkston — president of Meridian Pacific Ltd., an investment and development company with offices in Honolulu and San Francisco — told the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday that he had no plans to sell the shopping center, and claimed to be unaware of the listing.
“If I ever decide to sell, I’ll give you a call,” Pinkston said.
But IPA Executive Director Patrick Toomey briefly contradicted Pinkston, telling the Tribune-Herald that the shopping center was indeed for sale.
Upon being told of the discrepancy, Toomey was surprised, and placed a call to Pinkston, after which he reiterated that Pinkston intends to sell the property, but wanted to avoid “too much local coverage.”
But after another conversation with Pinkston, Toomey said the listing would be removed.
“He doesn’t intend to sell right now,” Toomey said. “There are no investors ready to buy.”
Shortly thereafter, the online listing was taken down from RealNex.com.
Puna Kai has been in operation for less than three years, with tenant businesses opening throughout 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there are 29 lessees in the shopping center, including the 35,000-square-foot Malama Market, Pahoa Animal Hospital, and the first Popeyes franchise on the Big Island — although that last one has yet to open.
Real property tax records indicate the property’s current owner — Willow Plaza LLC, a business entity managed by Pinkston — purchased the property for a total of roughly $20 million in 2015.
Groundbreaking on the shopping center took place in 2017, and construction continued throughout both the 2018 Kilauea eruption and Hurricane Lane the same year.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
