Posted on: Sunday, October 6, 2002

Maui church gets O'ahu mall site

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

NIU VALLEY — King's Cathedral of Maui will take over the Times Supermarket site in the Niu Valley Shopping Center after it remodels the former grocery store into a church, probably by the first of the year.

This will be the church's first O'ahu location, said the Rev. James Marocco. The church is affiliated with the First Assembly of God and has 15 other locations, from as far north as Alaska and as far south as Tahiti to as far west as the Philippines, Marocco said. While there is already a First Assembly of God church on O'ahu, this will be King's Cathedral's first location here.

"We're not on O'ahu," he said. "We're on every other island in Hawai'i. There are a number of our members who have moved to O'ahu and there's always someone hungry for God.

"I think we'll be able to reach the people that the other churches aren't able to reach."

There already are five established churches between Niu Valley and 'Aina Haina along Kalaniana'ole Highway, and that doesn't include newcomer Grace Chapel, which plans to move into the former Maunalua Tennis Club site in 'Aina Haina.

The growing number has raised concern among some residents, who say that more churches mean more potential sites for commercial weddings, which are already offered at three locations in a two-block oceanfront area of Kalaniana'ole Highway.

Ted Ashworth, a member of the Kuliou'ou-Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board, said the King's Cathedral plans had not come before the community yet. However, he did not anticipate any problems, as the church would have adequate parking and is not in the center of a neighborhood.

The church first began negotiating with the shopping center's owners, Hawai'i Electricians Pension Trust Fund, in February, he said. Steve Sofos, who represents the owners, has said that the church has an option to purchase the entire center in two or three years.

King's Cathedral still needs city building permits before it can turn the former food store into a church. The architect just completed the drawings, Marocco said.

"I believe this will be the first of many churches for us on O'ahu," he said. "It's an exciting adventure for us."

Freddy Halmes, owner of the Swiss Haus restaurant in the shopping center, predicted that the church won't affect his business. "The restaurants are pretty much destinations," Halmes said. "We pretty much have all the regulars."

Advertiser business writer Andrew Gomes contributed to this report.