'Aina Haina residents will have to wait at least another month to get details on the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of their neighborhood shopping center.

But at a community meeting tonight, representatives from the California-based real estate investment company that bought the center in June 2007 will give residents a sneak peak of their vision for the complex, while trying to reassure them the makeover won't change the character of the area.

"I think the center is out of date. I think it needs to be renovated," said Marvin Lotz, president of American Commercial Equities LLC. "We want to restore this center to the prominence it once enjoyed. But we're not coming in and changing the environment."

Lotz said residents should expect to see redevelopment plans for the complex in one to two months. So far, the biggest changes at the 58-year-old Aina Haina Shopping Center have been the loss of longtime businesses, including Komakata Restaurant, which was at the center for 27 years, Akamai Music & Enrichment, and Ryan's Sportsworld. Those moves were largely spurred by increased rents, which residents and shoppers fear could also drive out other businesses.

In addition, two other popular tenants have been told their leases won't be renewed — the 'Aina Haina 76 service station will move out in early 2009, while Chuck E. Cheese's pizza eatery and entertainment center will close at the shopping complex in December.

Company officials have said they envision major upgrades to the center, including adding new store fronts and signage, changing the facade of the buildings, putting in a food court and reshaping the parking area to include a greenbelt. But Lotz said yesterday it's too early to speculate about how much money will be spent on the remodel and when it will be completed.

Wayson Chow, president of the 'Aina Haina Community Association, said the shopping center has a small-town character and look that should be preserved.

"A lot of residents consider the businesses family," Chow said, adding that he has been working for months to set up a meeting with company officials. "The 'Aina Haina community got very concerned when businesses started shutting their doors. We're all in the dark" about the future of the shopping center.

The complex has a wide mix of businesses, from a surfboard retailer to a florist.

Jack's Restaurant, a 45-year tenant of the center, is one of many small businesses at the complex on a month-to-month lease — and fretting about the future. Yesterday morning, there was a good crowd in for breakfast as Jack's owner, Norman Lee, expressed his frustration over the scant details available on what the redevelopment of the shopping center will look like.

He said he has been trying to get a long-term lease since before the complex was sold last year.

Right now, he's on a month-to-month lease, and he fears he'll be booted out.

"At least 50 percent of our customers, we know them by name," he said. "We want to stay."

And residents want them to stay, too.

Helen Nakamura, 71, said she can't imagine the center without its longtime tenants, like Jack's.

"We're not like the other areas that would like upscale things," she said.

American Commercial Equities bought Aina Haina Shopping Center, which is anchored by Foodland, for $32 million. Foodland is in negotiations to retain its space, which will likely only be possible if the supermarket agrees to undertake extensive renovations.

Lotz said though not all residents will like the changes the center will see in coming years, most say renovations of the center are long overdue. And he pointed out that many businesses in the complex have reported declining or stagnant sales.

"I guess what I'm here to do is put everybody's mind at ease," he said yesterday, after flying in from California. "I need them (residents) to support us."