Puna retail center sold to Hawai‘i-based private investor

CBRE has arranged the sale of Pāhoa Marketplace, a multi-tenant retail center in Puna, to a Hawaii-based private investor for $8.3 million.

Jim Shipman with CBRE Advisory & Transaction Services and Matt Bittick with CBRE Capital Markets Institutional Properties represented the Seller, Walker Apartments LLC, in the transaction.

Located at 15-2660 Pāhoa Village Road, the 43,330-square-foot property was built in 2004. The shopping center comprises seven buildings and was previously anchored by a grocery store with a new tenant under negotiations. The property sits on 8.40 acres and also includes a fuel center, multiple out-parcel pad sites and 219 surface parking spaces.

“CBRE is delighted to have been a part of this transaction,” said Shipman, the lead broker on the transaction. “We are confident that Pāhoa Marketplace will benefit from having new and local ownership with strong connections throughout the islands.”

Situated in the high barrier-to-entry submarket of Hilo/East Big Island, the property is zoned for industrial/commercial mixed-use. The Big Island posted a 4.5% vacancy rate with an average asking rent of $3.10 per square foot in the third quarter of 2023, according to CBRE Research.

“Even though the capital markets are volatile and rapidly rising interest rates have significantly slowed investment transactions across the board, smaller value-add retail shopping centers like Pahoa Marketplace remain in high demand,” Bittick said.