Three full years after construction started in September of 2016, Kauai's newest shopping center located in Kilauea town has now opened to the public. Originally planned to be called Kilauea Lighthouse Village, the name of the project was changed to "Ahuimanu," which is Hawaiian for "a gathering place for people."
The shopping center offers roughly 43,000 square feet of retail space in total, and is anchored by Kilauea Market + Cafe, which opened its doors to the public on September 26. Kilauea Market + Cafe is planned to provide all the usual grocer offerings, but also feature prepared foods, a beer and wine bar and a gourmet coffee and pastry counter, with seating for roughly 70 customers.
According to the project developer, Hunt Companies, about two-thirds of the project is either leased or under lease negotiations. The Garden Island Newspaper (TGI) reports that other tenants lined up to open their doors at the project include Kai Bar Coffee Roasters, Kauai Boba & BBQ, Island Soap & Candle Works, Grande's Gems Hawaii, Shipwrecked Kauai, Wyland Galleries, and two credit unions. TGI also reported that lease negotiations are underway for an anchor fine dining restaurant and possibly one other sit-down eatery.
The project developer says they expect the project will bring 100 new jobs to Kilauea. Originally, a new access road was proposed to be created to divert traffic from Kilauea Road, however, the Hawaii Department of Transportation decided to delay that project until after 2020 due to a backlog of delayed maintenance on existing roads.
For more information regarding Kilauea, check out our Kilauea Community Guide.