Popular arcade, Kakaako shops relocate to neighboring districts

HONOLULU (KHON2) — If you’ve driven through the Kakaako area, you can see a lot is going on. It’s considered one of the fastest-growing districts in the state. Kakaako has been evolving for decades and more changes are on the horizon.

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According to Rep. Scott Saiki (D) Ala Moana, Kakaako and Downtown, things have changed over the past two decades. Shopping centers have disappeared from the Ward-Kakaako area and were replaced by high rises.

Businesses have faded away into the sunset such as long-time, local favorites like Buca Di Bepo. Others like Dave and Busters are also planning to relocate to Ala Moana by 2025, leaving empty spaces in Ward Entertainment Center.

“We may even lose the theater. We may even lose that or at least redesign with different kinds of businesses, with different kinds of businesses there,” said Saiki.

Kakaako will soon bid farewell to Ward Center in the next few years with two new high rises slated to take its place.

“It seems like there’s a new high-rise building going up every other month within the Ala Moana-Kakaako area,” Saiki explained.

Saiki said it’s all part of a master plan developed decades ago to create a mixed-use community that involves building more than 20 high rises. He said residents have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, people just love to live here in Kakaako and Ala Moana because this is so convenient and there’s just so much going on here. And they just really enjoy that urban, active kind of lifestyle. Then on the other hand, you hear sometimes that people who feel like there’s just too much development going on here.

Representative Scott Saiki (D) Ala Moana, Kakaako, Downtown

The Ala Moana and Kakaako neighborhood chair said residents do have concerns.

“‘Are we going to be able to afford housing?’ That always comes up. Whenever we do ask them, the question is always ‘Who are you targeting because it doesn’t seem like it’s the current neighborhood,'” said Ala Moana and Kakaako neighborhood chair, Kathleen Lee.

Lee said they hope the development will positively impact the residents and the community, but only time will tell.