New Kailua Longs aims to please
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — Longs Drug Stores will get a new multimillion-dollar home next to the Kailua Road building it has occupied for a quarter-century as part of landowner Castle Foundation's push to renovate and upgrade its properties in the heart of this beach town.
MC Architects
The new building, a towerlike structure, will be at the site of the former Arco station on Kailua Road. The site is next to Longs on a section of street that's being renovated through a Kailua Vision Team project. Renovations include a tree-lined median and the underground placement of utility wires. The utility-wire project is expected to begin soon.
The new Longs Drug Store in Kailua, expected to be completed in February 2004, will have 30,000 square feet of space and no "big blank wall" facing Kailua Road.
The Longs project will give the drugstore 30,000 square feet of space — up from the present 18,000 — and will include widening the narrow lane next to the building and installing a sidewalk, said Molly Mosher-Cates, vice president of Kane'ohe Ranch Co. Ltd., which manages the properties for the Castle Foundation.
"Plus we'll have four additional small retail spaces along Kailua Road so we don't end up with a big blank wall again," Mosher-Cates said, adding that some kind of artwork, possibly tile, is planned.
The design chosen reflects not only the Castle family's interest in generating revenue but its concern in building a town that the community is proud of, she said.
Over the past five years, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and the Castle Family Limited Partnership under the management of Kane'ohe Ranch has mounted a substantial upgrade of properties that they own here.
Kailua Village Shops, Kailua Foodland, Kailua Shopping Center and the Malama Building and Hahani Plaza have undergone renovations or been built since the late 1990s when Kane'ohe Ranch took back long-term leases from lessees who would not make property improvements.
Mosher-Cates couldn't say how much the Longs project will cost, saying it would depend on the parking and what is done to the old Longs building.
"It will be several million" dollars, she said.
The project should begin in June with the demolition of the Arco station. Construction should begin in July and Longs should have its building in February 2004, she said.
Longs' employees are excited about the new building, said Dennis Arakaki, store manager. The larger building will mean wider aisles, a better selection of merchandise and more employees, he said.
"This way we'll be able to satisfy customers more," Arakaki said.
Longs has been at the same location since 1976, when it moved into the former Kress store. The store has been renovated two times, most recently in 1985 when the front was expanded, he said.
The new building is a positive move for Longs, the business community and for Kailua where the community has for years initiated projects to beautify the town, said David Earles, Kailua Chamber of Commerce president.
Kane'ohe Ranch is a major contributor to beautifying the town by including landscaping and artwork in its projects, Earles said, adding that the chamber gave the ranch a beautification award last year for its efforts.
"I really appreciate Kane'ohe Ranch's effort to make sure we don't have a big blank wall facing Kailua Road," he said.
The fate of the old Longs building hasn't been decided, but it could include demolition or opening the Kailua Road side of the building, Mosher-Cates said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
