They hoped for an October finish, at the same time as Mitre 10 Mega, and were looking for a buyer interested in a blue-chip tenant tied to a 15-year lease.
Connecting Home HQ with the Hastings CBD will be an upgrade on Caroline Rd through Kmart Plaza's car park. Other roading projects had started to facilitate access, paid for by the developers.
Plaza manager Robyn Burns said she was "very pleased with what the council had planned for Caroline Rd" and said it would give the area a lift.
The Kmart Plaza had diverse tenants and the highest pedestrian count of any shopping centre in Hawke's Bay - the plaza's Kmart was consistently one of the top performing Kmarts in Australasia.
Colliers' central region director Cam Ward said out-of-town money was flowing into the Bay, helped by lower interest rates.
"The money enables the international chains to come here," he said.
But it wasn't all white-shoed outsiders investing.
"There is a deep rumbling of certainty in the rural sector - people are now getting money for their lambs and wool," Mr Ward said.
