A Foodland official said Thursday the company will continue to look for a Hawaii Kai site after Kamehameha Schools dropped its plans for a shopping center where a store was to be located.

Sheryl Toda, a spokeswoman for the largest locally owned grocery chain in the islands, said the company has always intended to return to Hawaii Kai after it closed its Koko Marina Center store in July 2011 when it could not renew its lease.

However, “at present there is no location that meets our needs,” said Toda, Foodland’s senior director of marketing and corporate communications.

Kamehameha Schools on Thursday confirmed it is suspending its plans for a commercial project on the so-called “great lawn” across the highway from Maunalua Bay, a development opposed by many Hawaii Kai residents who consider it the gateway to their community.

“We understand Kamehameha School’s decision to suspend the preliminary planning and community outreach process for the Kuapa commercial village in Maunalua,” Toda said in a written statement.

After the Koko Marina store closed, Foodland promised to “return to Hawaii Kai someday,” Toda said. Residents “said they wanted a Foodland because we are locally owned and care about the community.”

The two remaining fullscale groceries in Hawaii Kai are Safeway and Costco. The nearest Foodland is an upscale Foodland Farms in Aina Haina.

GREG KNUDSEN, chairman of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board, suggested that Foodland give a second look to a vacant site at the Kalama Valley Shopping Center. But Toda said Foodland officials have researched it thoroughly and determined it was not viable and “not a convenient location for most Hawaii Kai residents.”

Kamehameha Schools issued its own statement on the matter after City Councilman Stanley Chang’s announcement Wednesday night that the landowner had canceled its plans.

Susan Todani, director of Kamehameha’s Hawaii Kai commercial real estate activities, did not rule out completely development of the lawn site, which opponents point out is zoned for preservation.

“While we do not have any immediate plans for the Kuapa parcel, we will evaluate other opportunities that present themselves in the future as to how well they align with our endowment’s support of our educational mission,” Todani said.

Like Toda, Todani said Kamehameha only began looking into placing a Foodland there after it was suggested by the community.

While Knudsen described community opposition to the site as overwhelming, Todani said a communityled petition and a professional survey both indicated strong support for a Foodland in Hawaii Kai.