Alexander & Baldwin Inc. of Honolulu, Hawaii has divested itself of ashopping center it owned in Reno, NV, but the company says it still plansto continue its holdings on the mainland.
The company recently sold Airport Square for $23.5 million. The 170,800-sfcenter was sold by A&B subsidiary WDCI Inc. to Eureka Development Co.A&B had purchased the center in 1995; it is 98% occupied. The centeris located on 18.6 acres of land immediately adjacent to I-395 and near theReno International Airport, which serves the Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoecommunities.
Key tenants include Office Depot, PetsMart, and Mor Furniture. A Costcostore, on a portion of the site owned by Costco, is Airport Square's anchortenant.
Allen Doane, the seller's president and CEO, said theA&B worked to raise the occupancy at the mall and allowed Costco to expandand add a gasoline station. He said it was the right time to sell during alow economy, with low lending rates available.”The pre-tax gain from the sale was substantial, approximately $6.6 million,and we will reinvest these proceeds either in Hawaii or on the mainland, aspart of our ongoing strategy to grow our real estate business,” Doane said.
Norb Buelstag, VP of A&B, told GlobeSt.com that his companynormally holds onto property for an average of seven years.”We regularly turn over our portfolio,” Buelstag said.
The majority of the company's recent acquisition and investment activity hasbeen focused on Hawaii where, over the last four years, A&B Properties hasacquired or invested in 16 properties outside its core land holdings on Mauiand Kauai. These transactions represent a total capital commitment of nearly$300 million.
However, the company is still investing in the mainland, Buelstag said.”We bought Valencia, near Los Angeles, in February and a second center in Austin, Texasin March,” Buelstag said. “There's no effort to get rid of mainlandproperties.”
Some of A&B's most recent investments in Hawaii include the development ofLanikea, a 98-unit high-rise condominium in Waikiki. In April, the companyannounced a $40 million investment in the luxury high-rise residential andcommercial project, Hokua, located across the street from Ala Moana BeachPark. In March, A&B Properties completed the acquisition of 1100 Alakea, a31-story office building in downtown Honolulu, which A&B intends to convertinto Class A office condominium units.
The company has 12 separate commercial and residential projects in variousstages of development on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.The company owns and manages over 91,000 acres in Hawaii, and a portfolio ofcommercial income properties of more than five million square feet in Hawaiiand the western United States. These extensive land holdings include 69,000acres on Maui and 22,000 acres on Kauai.
Buelstag said the company started in 1875 as an agricultural corporation,moved into shipping with Matson Navigation Company Inc. and branched intoreal estate.
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