The Oahu retail market posted a solid 358,000 square feet of net absorption for the year, as vacancy rates declined to 5.26% from 5.85% recorded at year-end 2017. With more than 2.1 million square feet of new tenancy boosting the market, occupancy growth continued for the eighth consecutive year. For 2018, the retail market benefited from occupancy growth for newly expanded regional retail centers, the construction delivery of several new strip centers, and the leasing of several large vacant big box stores.
Ala Moana Center, International Market Place, and Ka Makana Alii, powerhouses in the retail marketplace, have added more than 1.4 million square feet of new retail inventory over the past three years. With this progress, a number of new tenants have been introduced to our retail market, including notable brands such as Home Goods, Ulta Beauty, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lucky Strike, Applebees, Five Guys Burgers, Eating House 1849, Mitsuwa Marketplace, and Strip Steak. During the past year, these regional centers contributed more than 180,000 square feet of positive tenancy growth in 2018.