RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Members of the Honolulu Church of Light hugged at the start of the final Sunday service at 1539 Kapiolani Blvd., where the church has been located for more than five years. The church does not know where it will move after its Oct. 31 deadline. The building is being torn down to make way for a Nordstrom store.
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Final service held before church, retailers evicted
The Ala Moana block will be razed to build a Nordstrom store
More than 75 people filled the Honolulu Church of Light on Kapiolani Boulevard yesterday for the last service held at the site.
The church and about two dozen other businesses will be torn down to make room for a new Nordstrom Department store and parking lot, and have until Oct. 31 to vacate.
Although church members and staff wondered where and when they will have a place to worship, they have faith a new location will eventually be found.
"We have no fear, no doubt," said David Bower, executive director of the Honolulu Church of Light's Sitting Council. "We're just walking the journey until we find it."
Over the last month, a number of businesses on the block including Kapiolani Bakery and Taiyo Noodles have been moving to new locations ahead of next week's deadline. Signs are posted on some of the vacant storefronts, informing customers of the new locations.
Tip-n-Toe Nails is one of the few remaining businesses.
Philip Luc, husband of Tip-n-Toe Nails owner Jennifer Kreytak, said after Sunday they will move to 510 Piikoi St., near Payless ShoeSource, after nearly 15 years at the Kapiolani Boulevard site.
Luc said he worries about how the move will affect business. He noted that they have informed most of their customers of their new location, but wonders about regular customers who drop in when they are in town. Customers from Japan, Canada and England come here, Luc said.
Dust screens will be installed around the property on Nov. 1.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Honolulu Church of Light is looking for a new location. Future services are in question until a new place for the church can be found.
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Demolition is expected to start in six to eight weeks, according to Jeff Dinsmore, vice president of development for General Growth Properties, which owns Ala Moana Center.
Construction of the three-story Nordstrom and an adjacent multilevel parking lot will likely start in late January.
"General Growth is fulfilling a long-pursued strategy on bringing Nordstrom to Hawaii," Dinsmore said. "It's been ongoing for more than 10 years."
Many of the tenants were on month-to-month leases, with lower rents because of the long-term plans to redevelop the property, Dinsmore said. For the past 5 1/2 years, Bower said, they have been fortunate to rent the 6,000-square-foot site with 25 parking stalls for $2,100 a month.
"We're just going to find a new home. It's not easy," said church Kahu Fred Sterling, adding that they likely would have to pay at least three times their current rent.
Services are normally broadcast on the Internet through the church Web site. It is unclear if that will continue if the church does not have a physical location.
Church members and volunteers have already started packing and placing their items in storage until the new location is found.
"Nothing stays the same," said church member Paul Kaneshiro, of Pauoa, who helped renovate the church when it moved to the site. "Everything evolves. Jus' gotta go with the times."
Luc had mixed feelings about construction of the new store and the boom of large retailers that have opened in the area in the past year.
"It's good and bad," he said. "It squeezes (out) a lot of small businesses."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Rev. Fred Sterling held the final service at the site yesterday. He said any new location will probably cost the church three times as much rent.
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Star-Bulletin reporter Craig Gima contributed to this story.