April 21, 2005
New Owner of Mariners Alley, lot plans future
LAHAINA – Could there be
a parking garage in Lahaina’s future? Maybe, maybe not.
Not soon. But it’s a possibility, now that Avalon Group
of Honolulu has purchased Mariners Alley on Front Street
and a small parking lot on Lahainaluna Road.
Christine Camp Friedman, head of Avalon, said Wednesday
that her investors want to do something with the parking
lot, which is just under a quarter of an acre, at 175
Lahainaluna Road.
She
understands how sensitive the community is to the
prospect of losing parking. So whatever Avalon comes up
with, she says, there won’t be any less parking.
It
may be “time for a parking structure” in congested
Lahaina, she said from her offices in Honolulu.
However, Avalon has not yet discussed any plans with the
county. The lot is zoned for business. It is just
outside the historic district.
However, there are height restrictions that might
preclude the kind of automated parking structure that
Avalon is investigating.
As
for Mariners Alley, in the heart of Front Street, Camp
Friedman says there are no changes planned, and the only
goal of Avalon is to “help the tenants prosper.”
The
current manager is being retained.
Mariners Alley contains Moose McGillycuddy’s and a
variety of art galleries and jewelry stores.
It
was owned for more than 13 years by Wiawatha Corp. and
3B Investments LLC.
The
price of the two properties totaled $16,415,000, Camp
Friedman says. Commercial properties in West Maui are
showing returns averaging 5 percent to 6 percent, she
says, and Mariners Alley is “significantly above that.”
Avalon was especially interested in obtaining
development land and might be interested in other such
opportunities in West Maui.
“The land was strategic for us,” Camp Friedman says.
But
she also says some of the reaction to the announcement
may have been slightly overwrought.
“I’m a local girl,” she says. “We understand what the
community may need.”
-Harry Eagar, Staff Writer
Maui News -
April 21, 2005
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