Waikiki’s biggest shopping center is for sale, and the price likely will be big. Really big. Perhaps the second-biggest price ever for a retail property in Hawaii.

Kamehameha Schools announced Tuesday that it will seek a buyer for Royal Hawaiian Center in a deal that includes the mall buildings but not the underlying land.

Local real estate analysts estimate that even as a leasehold, the property could fetch close to $300 million or perhaps much more.

"In addition to Ala Moana Center, it’s the prize jewel of shopping in Hawaii," said Mike Ha­masu, research and consulting director for commercial real estate brokerage firm Colliers International in Hono­lulu.

Ala Moana was sold in 1999 for $810 million — then an eye-popping price and a record for retail property in Hawaii. And that deal included the land.

Hawaii’s next-biggest retail property sale, according to Colliers, was the leasehold interest in the state’s second-largest mall, Pearlridge Center. Ohio-based Glim­cher Realty Trust bought out its partner’s 80 percent stake in Pearlridge last year for $289 million.

Other big retail property sales include $250 million for Ward Centers in 2002 and $250 million for the Sears store at Ala Moana in 2011.

Hamasu estimates that Royal Hawaiian Center could go for close to $300 million just based on the leasehold value of the land. A price based on income from the center could be considerably higher.

Kamehameha Schools officials declined to discuss potential prices or disclose the center’s net operating income.

Stephany Sofos, a local retail industry analyst, figures that Royal Hawaiian Center could fetch between $300 million and $500 million. "It’s a trophy property," she said. "This is the No. 1 jewel in Waikiki."

If a deal is made, it could be done around the middle of next year, given that the sale effort has only just begun.

Kamehameha Schools has retained broker Eastdil Secured to shop the center. The trust said it is under no pressure or hurry to sell.

Dee Jay Mailer, the trust’s chief executive officer, said the decision to sell was largely driven by a desire to diversify and reduce risk in the trust’s roughly $9 billion investment portfolio, and to help ensure perpetual funding of its core mission to educate Native Hawaiian children.

"For us, risk is incredibly important," she said. "Our beneficiaries need the endowment to fund 98 percent of their education. They are counting on us to be strong and resilient into perpetuity."

Kamehameha Schools spends $300 million to $350 million a year on its educational mission.

Royal Hawaiian Center is the trust’s single largest asset by value.

Mailer said proceeds from the mall’s sale will be reinvested and used to support normal operations that besides education include conservation land stewardship and major real estate development projects in Hale­iwa and Kaka­ako.

The timing for a sale is viewed as strong because demand from commercial real estate investors is high and interest rates are low. Kame­ha­meha Schools also invested $115 million in Royal Hawaiian Center in a renovation completed about six years ago.

Mailer said selling the mall will capture the increased value created by upgrading the 310,000-square-foot center, which is about 90 percent occupied by tenants that include Cheesecake Factory, Forever 21, Hermes, Bulgari, Tory Burch and Apple.

Before the renovation, the four-story center, which opened in 1981, featured a concrete fortress look and after 20 years was suffering vacancies as high as 40 percent in the face of newer competition.

Paul Quintiliani, the trust’s commercial real estate division director, said Kame­ha­meha Schools can potentially earn more with the leasehold sale than retaining ownership and operation of the mall.

Besides sale proceeds, Kame­ha­meha Schools would earn income from what is proposed to be a 60-year ground lease. At the end of the lease, the trust would recover complete ownership of the property.

Management of the mall, which is handled by Los Angeles-based Festival Cos., could be affected by a sale. Festival, which also invests in shopping centers, was retained by Kame­ha­meha Schools in 2004 to manage the renovation project.

Quintiliani said it isn’t envisioned that a buyer would further develop the site. The property covers 6.3 acres over three blocks along Kala­kaua Avenue mauka of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Sheraton Waikiki. Open spaces such as the Royal Grove with more than 200 trees would be maintained, he said.

The Royal Grove is a 30,000-square-foot cultural venue established by Kame­ha­meha Schools to reflect an ancestral home of the trust’s founder, Bernice Pau­ahi Bishop, called Helu­moa. Mailer said a prospective buyer’s commitment to Helu­moa will be an important factor in a decision.

"Should this transition take place, it will in no way diminish our commitment to the stewardship of Helu­moa," Mailer said. "Helu­moa is a special place for us."