Commercial development moving ahead in Pahoa

The June 27 lava flow hasn’t deterred a Pahoa landowner from pursuing a $20 million commercial development near the Pahoa Marketplace.

Jon McElvaney, B.T. Kuwahara LLC’s project consultant, said talks are continuing with potential tenants of the development, and he hopes to make an announcement regarding the project within the next month.

“I can’t announce anything at the moment, but it’s pretty positive,” he said.

It’s not clear what the project’s new timeline would be, but McElvaney confirmed owner Bryson Kuwahara is not deterred by the lava flow that was threatening his property at 15-2714 Pahoa Village Road almost a month ago. The flow remains active near the Pu‘u ‘O‘o vent.

Recent land clearing on the property, home to Bryson’s Cinders, is not related to the project, he said.

Plans for the 9.93-acre site include 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).

The Hawaii County Council approved a zoning change to accommodate the plan in November 2013.

That year, McElvaney acknowledged they were speaking with KTA about being an anchor tenant.

No building permits have been filed.

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.