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HCDA considers
more Ward shops


Victoria Ward Ltd. has sent a proposal to state planners that would add new retail space along its Auahi Street corridor in a bid to build on the area's appeal as a place to walk and shop.

Victoria Ward General Manager Jeff Dinsmore said the concept would add retail space fronting the Ward Centre parking structure and across from Ward Village Shops.

The parking structure cuts Ward Centre off from the street. That area is the only stretch of Auahi in the Ward complex that does not feature either open space or curbside access to retail establishments.

"The street has been very successful as a retail concept," Dinsmore said. "People like to be able to walk up and down the street and visit the businesses there. This would complete that feeling along the street."

Dinsmore said the concept has been submitted to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees development of Kakaako. However, he said, no formal plans have been drawn up and the idea is in very preliminary stages.

"There are potential issues with setback and traffic concerns," he said. "We're just trying to get a sense of the possibilities there."

The plans also would feature corridors through the Ward Centre parking structure to allow shoppers to reach its retailers more directly.

"We're not even sure we can do that but we're looking into it," Dinsmore said.

HCDA Executive Director Daniel Dinell said the facelift could be a "nice compliment" to the area.

"It's a project that certainly looks compatible with the overall vision for the area of a dynamic urban village," he said.

Victoria Ward Centers was bought for $250 million in 2002 by Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., which also owns Ala Moana Center. The company has shown tenants in the areas other prospective plans, which could include moving some of them around to make way for big-box retailers, condos and other developments that would replace the current Ward Village Shops directly across Auahi from Ward Centre.

Bryan Botelho, owner of the Kua Aina restaurant in the Ward Village Shops, welcomed the new concept. The location of the Ward Centre parking lot has "been a concern since day one," he said.

"Everything that General Growth has done in the area has increased our sales here and I imagine this would do the same," Botelho said.



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