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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 30, 2006

Waikiki's new stores spur hunt for parking

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Jerome Amoa, 21, of Honolulu walks past some of the Honolulu Zoo's coveted parking stalls, which cost lucky drivers just 25 cents an hour.

JEFF WIDENER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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WAIKIKI BEACH WALK
A 94,000 square-foot shopping and restaurant complex will be completed in December; renovations to three hotels, plus a time-share conversion, are scheduled for completion by 2007..

JOAQUIN SIOPACK | The Honolulu Advertiser

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ROYAL HAWAIIAN SHOPPING CENTER
Renovations, which will open views to the Royal Hawaiian hotel and add new tenants, will be completed in early 2007.

GREGORY YAMAMOTO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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CENTER OF WAIKIKI
Two-story restaurant and retail building at the site of the old Waikiki III theater will be completed by December. The project also includes upgrading Duke’s Lane by 2007 and bringing in a new retailer to occupy the former Waikiki I and II theater building.

GREGORY YAMAMOTO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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More than 90 new stores and restaurants will open in Waikiki over the next several months, giving O'ahu residents more reasons to revisit the state's No. 1 tourist destination.

And that makes affordable parking — a seemingly elusive commodity in Waikiki — even more critical.

Many hotels and shopping centers provide free or low-cost parking for customers who eat and shop in their restaurants and stores. But if you just want to stroll around the area and don't have specific dining or shopping plans, finding cheap parking can be tricky.

Wai'anae resident Desiree Kealoha usually falls in the second category. The 20-year-old waitress visits Waikiki about three times a month to hang out, go to the beach and shop.

"Actually, we don't really know where to park, because it's so crowded and there's no parking, so we have to keep driving around," Kealoha said. "It's harder now because there's more cars. Every year there's more and more cars coming out."

Residents who want to cruise around Waikiki and check out the new developments will have to do some extra planning to find reasonable parking.

Finding parking is even more of a challenge with visitors to the state at near record numbers. Hotel parking garages are filling up, and some have stopped offering cheaper parking rates regularly for local residents.

The Waikiki Improvement Association has stopped promoting its Holoholo Parking program, which started about the same time as the Sunset on the Beach movies and the Brunch on the Beach. The Holoholo Parking program allowed local residents to park at several Waikiki properties for rates starting at about $1 per hour.

"We just felt that we had lost critical mass to really go out there and promote the (Holoholo Parking) program," said association President Rick Egged.

But if you're not discouraged, here are some of the projects that may draw you back to Waikiki:

  • The Kamehameha Schools' $84 million renovation of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is about six months away from completion. When it's done, the 293,000-square-foot open-air mall will be 17,000 square feet bigger, with 110 stores, restaurants and entertainment attractions on four levels. They include more than 40 new stores and restaurants.

  • The two-story retail complex on the site of the old Waikiki III theater on Kalakaua Avenue is set to open by the end of the year.

  • Outrigger Enterprises Group's Waikiki Beach Walk includes a 94,000-square-foot, two-story shopping and restaurant complex set to open in December with an open-air plaza for live entertainment.

    Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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