By TOM CALLIS
By TOM CALLIS
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Pahoa residents could be getting a supermarket and more with a proposed new shopping center.
The $20 million project at 15-2714 Pahoa Village Road would include a supermarket, medical and dental facilities, as well as other retail.
But in addition to new shopping, land owner Bryson Kuwahara is also offering a roundabout at the intersection of the Pahoa bypass and and Pahoa Village Road and an opportunity to weigh in on the shopping center’s design and amenities, said Jon McElvaney, a consultant on the project with Inoue Hawaii Realty Corp.
McElvaney said the proposed shopping center is intended to “reflect the history of Pahoa town,” but to accomplish that goal, Pahoa residents will be asked to submit recommendations.
That will be done, he said, through public meetings and email.
The project is still in its early stages and no meetings have been scheduled.
An email address will be set up at a later date, McElvaney said.
He called it a “design by community” approach to make it “livable and convenient, and a nice place to go for families.”
The shopping center would be 104,250 square feet.
The property is zoned agriculture, and Kuwahara has submitted a zoning change request to Hawaii County to change the property designation to urban.
The zoning request for the 9.93-acre lot is one of the first steps Kuwahara has to take.
Kuwahara didn’t return a request for comment Monday.
The county Planning Commission will consider the request as early as October, said Daryn Aria, county planning program manager.
The shopping center would be located on the mauka side of the road near other commercial properties that include Long’s and Malama Market.
If approved, the project would also need building permits and final approval from the Planning Department.
Aria said the approval process takes about six months to complete, though that can vary.
McElvaney said construction would begin sometime next year.
The project is currently proposing a supermarket (40,000 square feet), garden center (10,000 square feet), family medical clinic (11,250 square feet), restaurant (5,000 square feet), high-turnover restaurant (3,000 square feet), medical/dental facility (5,000 square feet), rental/general merchandise (15,000 square feet), paint/hardware (10,000 square feet), and specialty retail (10,000 square feet).
McElvaney said businesses have expressed interest in occupying the supermarket and medical facilities, but he declined to identify them.
He said the supermarket would employ about 250 people and be larger than the Malama Market and Island Naturals, also located in Pahoa.
About 400 people would work at the shopping center, McElvaney said.
The property has been used as a base yard for Bryson’s Cinders for the last 30 years, according to the rezone application.
The project would also involve widening 600 feet of Pahoa Village Road, extending Kahakai Boulevard by 600 feet to create a main entrance, and the installation of a four-way traffic signal.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.