"It's Happening!" That was the message proclaimed on the old Hawai'i Theatre marquee back in the late 1980s when the theater was saved from the wrecking ball, and plans for its restoration were under way.

Today, 10 years after the theater reopened with its restored interior, and 18 months after the new marquee was lit up to announce the completion of the exterior restoration, we can once again proclaim: "It's Happening!"

This time, it's happening throughout our downtown/Chinatown neighborhood.

Every building in the immediate vicinity of the theater — some as old as the theater itself — is sporting improvements, new coats of paint, or complete rehabilitation.

They are supported by dozens of new restaurants, stores, galleries and other businesses that are attracting residents and visitors alike. And at the same time, returning taxes and services to the community.

Hawai'i Theatre Center, with public and private support, invested significant resources — more than $32 million along with countless volunteer hours — to help make this happen.

Getting to this point wasn't without its challenges.

Early on, a group of visionary citizens saw beyond the theater's faded condition to its potential as a usable and attractive performing-arts center that would serve as a catalyst for downtown Honolulu's economic revitalization, attracting new businesses, jobs and nighttime activities in the area.

Their vision, together with the confidence that it could happen, launched the first of three capital campaigns that, in subsequent years, would amass the money needed to turn the vision into reality.

While pioneering artists such as Ramsay, Roy Venters and Pegge Hopper were among the first to establish galleries in the neighborhood, and restaurants like Hank's Café, Duc's Bistro and Indigo have brought in new flavors, it would take Hawai'i Theatre Center considerable effort to overcome the lack of civic and media support for preserving a historic theater in a seedy, dangerous neighborhood.

Perseverance prevailed — along with an understanding that it doesn't "happen" overnight.

The establishment of the Honolulu Cultural & Arts District in 1999 was a significant accomplishment, helping to stimulate an aesthetic, social and economic renaissance. With the Hawai'i Theatre as its nucleus, the district has once again become a destination for culture and arts activities, shopping, dining and recreation.

The arts district has successfully advocated a change in city ordinances to allow landowners to rent loft spaces above their commercial space, attracting more residents to the downtown/Chinatown area and increasing owners' income from formerly vacant space.

The organization also administered $90,000 in federal funds to develop training and marketing opportunities for low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs and neighborhood artists.

In 2001, The ARTS at Marks Garage opened in renovated retail space across from the theater. With gallery and performance space, this key community project of the Hawai'i Alliance for Arts Education serves as an arts incubator for startup ventures, original new material and experimental programming.

Marks works closely with surrounding neighbors to create a synergy of economic opportunities, including the First Friday Gallery Walk events that now attract several thousand people each month to enjoy gallery openings, artist demonstrations and other activities in a mix of venues that includes museums, cafes, building lobbies, antiques stores and a tattoo parlor.

More recent additions to the neighborhood scene include such restaurants as Little Village Noodle Shop, Mei Sum, Sweet Basil and the upcoming Epic restaurant as well as retail outlets like INTO, Kaimalino Designs, Urban Nomad, HASR Wine Co. and Sourcing Asia.

Louis Pohl Gallery, Got Art?, Keiki Photography, Bethel Street Gallery and Details Gallery are among the growing number of art-related establishments.

Edgy new entertainment venues like rRed Elephant, Bar 35, Next Door and thirtyninehotel also are helping to attract a new after-hours crowd of young people.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann views Chinatown as an important focus area of the city's current economic development plan. His administration has cleaned up the Chinatown Gateway Park next to the theater and will convene the first-ever "Chinatown Summit" at the Hawai'i Theatre next month.

The ultimate vision is to establish Chinatown as a "must see" destination for visitors to the Islands.

When the effort to restore the Hawai'i Theatre began, the Downtown Improvement Association reported that 10,000 people lived downtown. Now there are more than 60,000 people living within half a mile of the theater, and several new residential condominiums are under construction.

Though drug trafficking and other undesirable activities are still a challenge in some parts of the downtown/Chinatown community, prostitution seems to have moved elsewhere. In general, we've been successful in turning around the old perception that a night out at the Ha-wai'i Theatre or other neighboring establishments is dangerous.

Today, most who visit the area would agree that the once-struggling neighborhood has indeed "arrived."

Sarah Richards is president of the Hawai'i Theatre Center. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.