OAHU, HAWAII — DeBartolo Development has announced several retailers that will occupy the first phase of a $350 million regional shopping center for West Oahu, which will break ground next year. The mall will be called Ka Makana Ali'i and will total 1.4 million square feet when completed.
Walgreens, 24 Hour Fitness, Butterfly Ice Cream, State Farm Insurance and Nail Tek will be among the first tenants in the project's 200,000-square-foot first phase, while McDonald's is in final lease negotiations. The fast food chain currently has 76 locations across the state of Hawaii.
The shopping mall will be built in two phases, with the first phase expected to open in 2014.
“Ka Makana Ali'i will be one of the only regional malls built in the United States in years, and we are very excited to partner with the West Oahu community to make this a reality,” says Edward Kobel, president and chief operating office of Tampa, Florida-based DeBartolo Development.
The second phase of the project will include a major department store, movie theater, retail shops, restaurants, two hotels and a pedestrian plaza with outdoor cafes. Plans for Phase II also call for the construction of a 200,000-square-foot office tower.
The Ka Makana Ali'i site is surrounded by several master-planned communities and is a half-mile south of the new University of Hawaii West Oahu campus, which serves 7,600 students and 500 faculty members. Also nearby are Ko Olino Resort, J.W. Marriott, Ko Olina Beach Club and Disney's Aulani Resort.
Jobie Masagatani, chair-designate of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, says the new lease announcements give locals a clearer picture of the kinds of shops and services the mall will provide. “They'll be able to envision more concretely where they'll shop, what they'll be able to buy and where they might work — right in their backyard.”
Debartolo Development is leasing land for the project from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Under terms of the agreement, the developer will pay more than $140 million in rent over 65 years.
Upon completion of the project, Ka Makana Ali'i will be the third largest regional mall on Oahu, after Ala Moana and Pearlridge.
— Liz Burlingame