Waikoloa Highlands Center sold for $22.5M

A California-based investment firm has sold Waikoloa Highlands Center, a retail complex on Hawaii island, to a Wisconsin-based private investor for $22.5 million, according to broker Faris Lee Investments.

Faris Lee said the center, which had been on the market with other brokers for a few years, is 75 percent occupied with tenants.

The 73,524-square-foot center was built in 1990 on 6.4 acres in Waikoloa Village, a residential community above resort areas along the island’s Kohala Coast. The center is anchored by Waikoloa Village Market, a grocery store owned by Big Island chain KTA Super Stores.

Faris Lee represented the seller, 3D Investments, and the buyer, whom the broker did not name.

Koa Technologies receives $215,000 grant

Koa Technologies LLC, a Honolulu-based research and development startup, won a $215,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new prosthetic device.

"Current attachment devices for prosthetics are unreliable or uncomfortable," Kaione Newton, president of Koa Technologies, said in a press release. "We believe that our device will be a significant advancement for amputees who require high performance from their prosthetic devices."

The company will work with the University of Hawaii’s Department of Mechanical Engineering to develop a prototype of the prosthetic device.

ON THE MOVE

The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau has hired Michael Ni as digital strategist. Prior to joining HVCB, Ni served as an account supervisor at Edelman Digital in Seattle and worked in travel and tourism public relations at Andrew Freeman and Co. in San Francisco and at Hono­lulu-based PR firm McNeil Wilson Communications.

American Savings Bank has announced Jimmy Pae as its residential loan officer. He has more than 20 years of experience in the Hawaii mortgage industry and specializes in conventional, VA, FHA and USDA loans. Prior to joining ASB, Pae was serving as a mortgage consultant for several local companies.

Cyanotech Corp. has named Gerard "Gerry" Watts to a newly-created position as chief operations officer. He has more than 30 years experience as a senior operations executive in the food and agribusiness industry. Watts was previously a principal consultant, International Agribusiness for ProducePro Consultancy.