International Market Place may get $100M renovation

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Staff Writer

This morning the Queen Emma Foundation is expected to announce plans for a $100 million redevelopment of the International Market Place, that maze of kiosks, stores, restaurants, tiki carvers and lei makers in the heart of Waikiki.

"The foundation is the entity responsible for redevelopment of the area," said Arthur Ushijima, president and chief executive officer of The Queen's Medical Center.

Ushijima said plans are in the "$100 million area."

The Queen's Medical Center is one of the beneficiaries of money from the foundation.

With plans for the marketplace still in the early stages, there are no final designs or permits at this point. But redevelopment would be done in the same low-rise style.

About 300 vendors operate in the marketplace. According to a report last night by television station KHNL, the businesses will be notified today of plans for redevelopment.

According to KHNL, representatives for the Queen Emma Foundation, which owns the land under the marketplace, said there would be a meeting of vendors today at 8:30 a.m.

People familiar with the plans said that it could be two years before redevelopment begins and vendors will be given as much time as possible to move.

The land under the marketplace has been assessed at anywhere from $600 million to $800 million in value, with some estimations valuing it as high as several billion dollars, if buildings are included.

The 125,000-square-foot Kalakaua Avenue site was developed in 1957 and is a popular stop for tourists looking for Hawaiiana to bring home with them.

But in recent years the area has lost some of the luster of its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, overshadowed by other major redevelopment along Hawai'i's tourist strip.

A major change for the area has been under discussion for as long as two years, with redevelopment cost figures going as high as $150 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.