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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Work nears on Kahala Mall theaters

By Greg Wiles
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tommy Alder of Floors of Hawaii cleaned up near the Kahala Mall movie complex after the flood in March that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to stores and merchandise.

ADVERTISER LIBRARY PHOTO | April 3, 2006

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Consolidated Amusement plans to raise the curtains on its Kahala Mall movie complex by the end of the year, after repairs caused by a flood in March.

The company said it will start reconstruction within the next four weeks now that it has fully assessed problems caused by the water. Jody Shiroma Perreira, spokeswoman for Consolidated, said the theater chain would release more information about the project later.

The eight-screen facility will be the last tenant to reopen at Kahala Mall, which closed for 3 1/2 days after the March 31 flooding. Torrents of water swept through the mall during a heavy downpour, flooding some areas up to 6 inches or more and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to stores and merchandise.

"This will bring business back to usual," said Scott Creel, regional marketing manager for Kahala Mall. "The Kahala theaters fill an important role."

He said the theaters help draw local residents to the 418,000-square-foot mall. Without the multiplex, many moviegoers headed either to theaters in Hawai'i Kai or Victoria Ward Centers.

Having the theaters open by the holiday season could add considerably to activity at Kahala Mall, especially if blockbuster movies are playing, he said.

Shiroma Perreira said information wasn't available at this time on why it's taking so long to reopen the theaters or if anything different was planned for the location. The theaters opened two decades ago as a five-screen facility.

In April, Consolidated had said the multiplex might take months to reopen because three of the complex's theaters suffered extensive damage.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.