The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said it has received substantial interest from developers to build what the state agency hopes will serve as the Ala Moana Center for Kapolei residents.

Fifteen to 20 investor groups including several major Mainland retail developers have expressed an interest in building and leasing DHHL's 67-acre commercial space in Kapolei, said DHHL spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka.

Yonenaka declined to identify the prospective developers and would not disclose how many proposals were submitted. But he said the department, which began seeking development proposals in February, plans to select a winning bidder in the next couple of weeks.

The new mall would have a larger footprint than the 50-acre, multi-level Ala Moana Center, which boasts more than 2 million square feet of retail space and is the state's largest retail center.

Local retail consultants said the growth in the Kapolei and 'Ewa communities supports the addition of a major, new shopping center in that community.

"You don't have enough retail, you don't have enough clothing stores and you don't have enough sit-down restaurants" in the Kapolei area, said Stephany Sofos, owner of the local real estate and retail consulting firm SL Sofos.

"People don't want to spend an hour or two on the road just to eat dinner."

DHHL is offering a 65-year lease on the property, which sits close to proposed site for the University of Hawai'i's West O'ahu campus and DHHL's largest residential project, the 403-home East Kapolei 1 subdivision.

The department is asking for an initial annual rent of $4.7 million for the commercial property.

In its marketing material, DHHL noted that Kapolei and its surrounding areas will eventually require more than 1.5 million square feet of new retail space.

That estimate is based on projections that the Kapolei area will have as many as 32,000 homes and 102,000 residents by the year 2010.

The DHHL project is the latest of several major retail projects targeting the West O'ahu community. In 1997, Virginia-based Mills Corp. announced plans for a 100-acre, 200-store retail and entertainment complex on land owned by the Estate of James Campbell. The project was canceled a year later.

More recently, local developers The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group announced plans for a 20-acre retail complex in Kapolei along Kalaeloa Boulevard near Home Depot.

The MacNaughton/Kobayashi project, dubbed Kapolei Commons, will be similar in size to the Kahala Mall and is expected to be completed in 2008.

Created by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, DHHL is the state agency that carries out the federal mandate of placing qualified Hawaiians on land set aside for them.

With assets of more than $600 million, DHHL has set a goal of awarding 6,000 statewide residential leases to Hawaiians by the year 2010.

Proceeds from commercial projects such as the Kapolei mall will be used to fund the agency's programs for Hawaiians.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.