LIHU'E — Safeway said it has completed purchase of the land for its Hokulei Village shopping complex between Lihu'e and Puhi and is going forward with development of a new Safeway Lifestyle store and surrounding retailers.

The sale of the property — a 22.8-acre commercial-zoned parcel at the corner of Kaumuali'i Highway and Nuhou Street owned by Grove Farm — was finalized last week.

A zoning permit for the project was approved by the Kaua'i Planning Commission last December.

In a statement, Safeway vice president for development Gerry Wolfe said the company is in negotiations with 14 tenants.

When the retail center was announced last fall, it was envisioned to include a collection of small retail shops, two or three sit-down restaurants, a possible gas station and two "junior anchor" stores selling clothing, electronics, sporting goods or books. Banks, office space and a community meeting space also were part of the plan.

The anchor will be a 56,000-square-foot Safeway Lifestyle store, which will carry regular and organic products.

The store expects to employ 150 to 200 people. Safeway says the center as a whole should create more than 1,000 jobs.

The Kaua'i unemployment rate of 10.3 percent in March was the highest of any county in the state.

"The purchase is an indication of Safeway's commitment to proceed with the development of this important retail project, and of our optimism about the future despite the state and the nation's current economic challenges," Wolfe said. "It speaks to the confidence we have in Hawai'i and the Kaua'i marketplace."

The Lihu'e project would be a major addition to Kaua'i's retail industry, but be significantly smaller than the island's largest mall, the 330,000-square-foot Kukui Grove Center on 35 acres less than a mile away.