The Kukui Grove Center renovation and re-development project that began in October of 2001 should be complete within the next two months, officials said.
Originally conceptualized in February of 2001, the renovation project at the center should be finished with “common area” construction by November, said Wade Lord, center asset manager.
“This project has gone exceedingly well in terms of time and budget,” Lord said. “We tried to be clear up front about the process and what it entailed.”
The common areas Lord refers to are the major-building construction areas as well as the community-events location at the center.
“We have been really happy with the support we have had from both the public and our tenants given the scope of the work,” Lord said.
“When a construction and renovation project of this magnitude comes about, there are always issues that come up with the community and the local tenants.”
Once the construction in the aforementioned areas is complete, tenants (with leased locations) will begin making improvements to their specific businesses.
“Everyone has worked in a real spirit of cooperation,” Lord said. “We always try and leave the door open for them (tenants) to come by and offer their concerns on the project.”
One of the key issues that came up prior to the project’s start was how the community and center businesses would react to the large amounts of construction.
Lord decided, initially, to put up 12-foot barricades to cover up the construction zones. However, it became clear to Lord that the community was very interested in the project.
“The community sees Kukui Grove as a gathering place,” Lord said. “We got inundated with phone calls while the barricades were up. People wanted to know what was going on. So we dropped the barricades.”
The renovation and expansion of the Kukui Grove Center has created additional spaces for new businesses. Currently, their are 45 stores at the center. Once all construction is complete, the center will be set for approximately 65 business locations, depending on size and leased space.
Among the new stores at the center will be franchises like Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Blockbuster Video as well as Cold Stone Creamery. In addition to those stores, Macy’s will open a second location at the center.
According to Lord, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Cold Stone Creamery are targeting December for openings. Blockbuster is looking at an opening sometime in the spring of 2004.
“The overall purpose of the center has always been to offer the best service for our customers,” said Lord.
“Initially, we took a marketing survey of the community in order to get some views about the renovation project. A lot of the people that filled out those surveys had a list of stores that they wanted to see on Kaua‘i.”
Among the stores on the “most-wanted” lists were Starbucks and Jamba Juice.
Lord expects the project to help boost sales at the center.
“Our customer traffic is good, and our sales are up,” he said. “Things have gone really well for us over the past two years. From January to July (of 2003), overall sales at the center are up 8 percent.
“We have tenants that want to expand their locations. It’s really good to see the tenants make that kind of commitment to the future of this center.”
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
