Case Study

Tenant Coordination

International Market Place

Comprehensive Logistics Solutions

Coordinating Tenants on the 5th Largest Retail Street

Sachse Construction was hired to lead tenant coordination services for 90 tenants at the International Market Place mall in Honolulu, HI. The mall is located on Kalakaua Avenue, which is rated the fifth top retail street in North America after Fifth Avenue in New York, North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and Union Square in San Francisco.

International Market Place was built on a postage-size lot, located in one of the most densely populated areas of Hawaii. Delivery access to the loading docks was limited to a one-lane road, which was shared by another market across the street. Heavy traffic proved to be a significant challenge for deliveries, as trucks frequented the road. Additionally, because of neighboring hotels, tenants were only able to use the loading docks from 6:00 am – 3:00 pm. Sachse Construction’s tenant coordination team took a proactive approach to the loading dock issue and developed a custom scheduling system for the retailers to avoid multiple deliveries at one time. Retailers utilized this system to reserve delivery times, which were carefully monitored by the tenant coordination team. Sachse Construction coordinated with shipping companies to use holding containers at the ports to store early deliveries until it was time to take these materials to the project site.

The project team provided labeled holding containers for retailers that were easily accessible and transportable. By utilizing the scheduling system, the team was able to ensure there was no backup of trucks, minimized noise disruptions, and appropriate delivery locations for each holding container.

Another challenge the team encountered was the turnover of the GLA from the base contractor. The base contractor was four months behind schedule, which posed the risk of tenants not being able to move in on time. To overcome this obstacle, Sachse Construction’s tenant coordination team, which has experience with general contracting and construction management, assessed the base contractor’s schedule. The team was able to devise new plans and routes to get the spaces turned over earlier for the retailers to ensure they could build out their stores on time.

Due to the time restraints for tenants to move in, the Sachse Construction team proactively ordered additional long lead time materials that retailers may have needed at the last minute. Materials included storefronts, Lexan glass windows, and water source heat pumps. If materials arrived broken or behind schedule, retailers were relieved to utilize the extra materials Sachse Construction’s tenant coordination team kept on hand.

In addition to proactively ordering additional materials, the team also contracted various qualified skilled trades one month in advance of the opening. The reasoning behind this was strict licensing rules. The team could not bring trade partners from the mainland to buildout stores, creating a shortage of skilled labor on the island with the capabilities to handle this large of a project. Knowing this would pose a challenge for retailers to open their stores on time, these additional plumbers, masons, carpenters, and electricians were hired in advance to handle last-minute projects on an as-need basis for the tenants.

Thanks to careful planning and the logistical expertise of the tenant coordination team, each tenant was able to successfully open their store on time for the mall’s grand opening.