Waikiki’s Ultimate Facelift
Far from the concrete fortress it once was, Royal Hawaiian Center is now a graceful Hawaiian place that respects its royal roots and presents a world
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If you build it - then rebuild it - will they come? The Royal Hawaiian Center is about to find out as it completes a $115-million makeover from being a foreboding concrete mass in Waikiki to becoming a world-class garden-style mall.
With more open space, more Hawaii-inspired designs and amenities, a reconstituted mix of merchants and culture-infused programming, will it capture the imagination of visitors and, more importantly, will it lure local residents back to Waikiki?
Property owner Kamehameha Schools has invested a lot of time and money into answering those questions. The shopping center is Kamehameha Schools’ single most-important real estate asset in terms of value, revenue and cultural history. Its profitability is crucial to Kamehameha Schools’mission of educating children of Hawaiian ancestry.
The nonprofit trust first conceived of renovating the center in 2001. The Festival Companies of Los Angeles was commissioned in 2004 for the complex redevelopment. Construction began in 2005, tearing down the center’s heavy concrete bridges and opening up the property’s tree-lined grove, now a focal point and gathering place at the site.
Three years later, the results are about to be formally unveiled and celebrated with open house festivities starting Saturday, June 14. The physical transformation is said to be remarkable and a model of renovation architectural styling and design. The center covers six acres and three blocks along Kalakaua Avenue, an economic gold coast.
To the casual observer, the revitalized center is a gleaming tribute to historic Helumoa, a Hawaiian royal retreat that once stood on these grounds. To others, it is a field of dreams that must now meet high expectations in social, educational and economic impact.
Now the pressure’s on.
No one knows that better than The Festival Companies’ management team of general manager Marleen Akau, marketing director Helene “Sam” Shenkus, and cultural director Manu Boyd.
Structural changes have been made; the hardware is in place. It’s now “showtime” for the management team to bring the center to life and to market it to the world. It’s a tall order, but the team’s cumulative 86 years of experience in business and the community have prepared them for this moment. It’s primetime for RHC’s dream team.
“We’re happy to bring back the historical meanings of this property,” says Akau. “I like the outcome of the project, bringing back the unique Hawaiian sense of place.”
Akau speaks to the heart of the matter. As commercial properties reinvent themselves because of changing demographics, can they still retain the spirit and essence of Hawaii’s cultural identity? What does it take for a place to be pono (proper)?
It’s something that Akau, with 25 years of property management experience, deals with on a daily basis. It draws upon both her vocational and native values.
Akau started with Kamehameha Schools in 1975 at an entry-level job and now manages its most-prized real estate asset. From messenger, she advanced to treasury assistant, handling investments and collections for Kamehameha Schools and later became land manager for Hawaii Kai, overseeing 6,000 acres of land and negotiating ground rents.
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The Aiea High School graduate has managed Windward Mall, Aloha Tower Marketplace, Keauhou Shopping Center, several office buildings and industrial warehouses.
Akau notes that this is the first significant upgrade for the 29-year-old Royal Hawaiian Center. The area was once known as the King’s Grove at Helumoa because it was a home of King Kamehameha I with thousands of coconut trees. It also was the residence of Kamehameha’s great-granddaughter and Kamehameha Schools benefactor Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
It’s a rich heritage that inspired the redesign work by architects WATG, Architects Hawaii and Callison Design of California.
Pedestrian flow has been improved. Open-air, Hawaiian-inspired architecture is incorporated into the design. Native landscaping and the use of extended beams and trellises provide a comforting filter from bright sunlight. The overall effect blends an outdoor shopping center with a Hawaiian garden, according to Akau.
Within this tropical ambiance, complete with torch lights at night, is a world-class shopping, dining and cultural experience that pleases marketing director Shenkus. The “new” Royal Hawaiian Center (it’s no longer just a “Shopping Center”) lends itself to exciting branding and marketing opportunities, she says.
“We’re excited about the caliber of tenants,” Shenkus says. “We have well over 50,000 square feet of space occupied by world-renowned global brands. It’s totally first class.”
High-end luxury retailers occupy street-front townhouse-style stores along Kalakaua Avenue, including Hermes, FENDI, Cartier, Bvlgari, Ferragamo, Hawaii’s first kate spade boutique, trendy Juicy Couture and master watch-maker Tourneau.
Restaurants include the most successful Cheesecake Factory in the U.S., Cancun’s Señor Frog’s, Waikiki’s first P.F. Chang’s, Doraku Sushi, and highly anticipated Paina Lanai, which will seat 270 diners in a 7,500-square-foot area on the second floor. Nine new eateries are scheduled to open in June, including Tacone Flavor Grill, a California chain making its Isle debut that specializes in sandwich wraps, quesadillas, grilled platters and salads.
Taken as a whole (encompassing 310,000 square feet), the center presents a diversified experience for today’s consumer, which Shenkus brands as “Mood Waikiki.” Royal Hawaiian Center focuses on its day-or-night, sunlight-or-moonlight imagery in dramatic ads that appear in visitor publications, a new Euro-style shopping guide and other print collateral.
It’s part of the marketing magic Shenkus employs to draw shoppers, diners and fun-seekers to the center.
Shenkus joined Royal Hawaiian Center after nine years as an independent marketing consultant with a diverse portfolio of clients. She has held top marketing positions at Roberts Hawaii, Aloha Tower Marketplace and Ala Moana Center, earning her the distinction of being a marketing maven with an enviable track record.
“Waikiki is the retail hub of Hawaii,” she says. “I’ve come to appreciate that, on any given day, there’s a change in the dynamics of a marketplace, and one has to be prepared to respond and take it to the next level.”
Adding his expertise to the team is Manu Boyd, who is coming full circle. He was educated at Kamehameha Schools and is now responsible for cultural programming at the center. His is a unique position in mall management, but one that utilizes his vast knowledge of the Hawaiian culture, language, and heritage. He is a kumu hula and leader-arranger for award-winning Hawaiian ensemble Ho’okena. Before joining Royal Hawaiian Center, he was public information
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