Whatever Happened To...
An update on past news
|
Kahului Town Center permit OK’d
Question: What ever happened to the redevelopment plans of Kahului Shopping Center after the 2005 fire that burned down three stores?
Answer: The Maui County Planning Commission approved a special management area permit Tuesday, a step needed to redevelop the shopping center and the surrounding land to create the Kahului Town Center.
The 20-acre center will consist of four quadrants with a mix of commercial, retail and residential buildings. Walkways will link the existing shopping center with the Maui Mall and the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center.
Owners of the land, A&B Properties, plan to keep the traditional feel of the shopping center by retaining and planting about 100 monkeypod trees.
The shopping center "has become known as the shady place in Kahului where you can relax," said A&B Properties project manager Darren Lake. "We're trying to keep that element of it."
The architectural plans include keeping a plantation-style feel to keep the Town Center connected to Kahului's plantation history.
The next step will be getting a building permit. Construction will take six to 10 years, and the first phase is expected to begin at the end of 2008, Lake said.
The only Shopping Center building left at the completion of the Town Center will be the Kahului Building, a four-story building that consists mainly of offices, Lake said.
Ah Fook's Supermarket, a popular local store destroyed in the February 2005 fire, has been in Kahului for 80 years. It has since reopened in another part of the Shopping Center. As for the other two stores destroyed in the blaze, TJ's Oriental Food Mart has also reopened, while the Salvation Army's Thrift Store has not.
Lake said A&B Properties is in talks with Ah Fook's for its plans in the redevelopment.
This update was written by Laurie Au.
Ever wonder what happened to a person, event or issue that has been in the news? We'll find out for you if you e-mail us at
cityeditors@starbulletin.com, call us at 529-4747 or write 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu, HI 96813. "What Ever Happened to ..." runs Saturdays.