BY BOBBY COMMAND
WEST HAWAII TODAY
bcommand@westhawaiitoday.com
The Waikoloa Beach Resort is putting the final touches on a shopping complex that will include a cultural gardens and an entertainment area with a capacity of 4,000 people.
“This will complete the plan for Waikoloa Beach Resort as the gathering place for the Kohala Coast,” said Thos Rohr, president of Waikoloa Land Co.
When combined with the Kings’ Shops, the 28-acre complex will feature more than 200,000 square feet of stores. The entertainment center is intended to serve both visitors and residents, which include the resort’s 3,000 employees.
“Queens’ MarketPlace is a natural extension of Kings’ Shops and Waikoloa’s success as the destination shopping area for residents and visitors of the Kohala Coast,” Rohr said.
The open-air Queens’ MarketPlace will feature a wide array of brand name retail shops and restaurants. Architect Theodore Garduque designed the buildings based on the monarchy period with emphasis on the influence of Hawaii’s queens and princesses.
An anchor tenant of Queens’ MarketPlace is the 20,000-square-foot Island Gourmet Markets. The flagship store of a new partnership envisioned by Sidney Kosasa of ABC Stores and Barry Taniguchi of KTA Markets, it will cater to those who live along the coast by offering gourmet foods and fine wines.
“Our plan is to make this a unique shopping experience that captures the senses and creates a feeling of fun and excitement for shoppers,” said Paul Kosasa, president and chief executive officer of ABC Stores. “It will appeal to local residents and fit perfectly with the Waikoloa lifestyle.”
Island Gourmet Markets will be the first store completed and is scheduled to be fit out by December of this year. Other tenants that have signed leases for Queens’ MarketPlace are Coldwell Banker, Giggles, Island Pearls, Islands Fine Burgers and Drinks, King and Queen Day Spa, King’s Kitchen, Local Motion, Marble Slab Creamery, Queen’s Deli, Starbucks, The Noodle House, Trinity Financial, The Studio, Waikoloa Realty and Waikoloa Silver.
Spaces remain available and negotiations are underway with other potential tenants. The grand opening of Queens’ MarketPlace is scheduled for the 2007 Memorial Day weekend.
Queens’ MarketPlace will be integrated with the 75,000-square-foot Kings’ Shops, which opened in 1991. Its tenants include Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Coach, Cinnamon Girl, Na Hoku, Haimoff and Haimoff, DFS Galleria, Roy’s Waikoloa Bar and Grill, and Merriman’s Market Café. Tiffany and Co. will open in November.
Waikoloa Cultural Gardens will display native plant species, with an accompanying performance meadow that will serve as an outdoor amphitheater to showcase a variety of entertainment to a capacity audience of 4,000 people.
“Waikoloa Cultural Gardens will pay tribute to the many ethnic groups of the Big Island,” said Rohr, “and in the spirit of our culture be hosted in a peaceful setting that features both island music and entertainment from around the world.”
Rohr said the resort is already negotiating with a group of 2,000 hula dancers from Japan who hope to hold an annual competition there.
“The response has been out of this world,” said Rohr. “We’ve had this dream for the last 20 years, and we think that the cultural gardens and performance meadow will give the community the opportunity to showcase one of the great collections of entertainers.”
A walking trail will wind around the performance meadow and lead visitors through sectioned areas devoted to Hawaii’s ethnic populations. Tours and displays will highlight the historical and cultural significance of select Big Island crops — like Kona coffee and macadamia nuts — and indigenous Hawaiian flora and fauna.
Waikoloa Cultural Gardens satisfies a longtime dream of Waikoloa Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to perpetuate Hawaiian culture.
Queens’ Market LLC, a partnership of Waikoloa Development Co. (WDC) and CoastWood Capital Group LLC, owns Queens’ MarketPlace. WDC will provide management services and General Growth Properties is the leasing agent.
Rohr said virtually all of the entitled lands in the 1,350-acre resort have been spoken for. In addition to the shopping areas, the resort includes a total of 2,400 rooms in the Hilton Waikoloa Village and Waikoloa Beach Marriott Hotel, and a pair of golf courses — the Kings’ Course and the Beach Course.
“The nice part of it is that people are loving the lifestyle here,” Rohr said. “And that is the idea of a lifestyle center — people don’t have to leave the property.”
For more information about Queens’ Marketplace or Waikoloa Beach Resort, visit online at www.waikoloabeachresort.com or call 886-8811.