Posted on: Sunday, January 28, 2001
2001 promises to be a year of significant changes for Hawai'i's residents and its businesses
Advertiser Staff
On the 2001 horizon
• Kalia Tower. The Hilton Hawaiian Village’s new $95 million Kalia hotel tower is scheduled to open in May, the first major new hotel construction in Waikiki in nearly a decade.
• Waikiki Galleria. DFS Hawaii’s $65 million Waikiki entertainment/retail complex is scheduled to open Feb. 1.
• Cruise ships. By the end of this year, three cruise ships based in Hawai‘i will have capacity for nearly 4,000 passengers. Norwegian Cruise Line will be the latest to bring in a Hawai‘i-based ship, with its 1,960-passenger SuperStar Leo set to arrive in December. The ship joins American Classic Voyages’ 867-passenger Independence and 1,212-passenger Patriot.
• New planes. Starting in March, Hawaiian Airlines will begin replacing its more than 20-year-old DC-9 interisland planes with more modern Boeing 717s at a cost of $430 million.
• New flights. Aloha Airlines plans to start Las Vegas flights next month, exactly one year after the carrier began its first-ever Mainland route to Oakland, Calif. Hawaiian Airlines plans to begin service to San Diego this spring.
• Liberty House. After a nearly three-year struggle in Bankruptcy Court, the longtime kama‘aina retailer is expected to finally emerge with a plan of reorganization to restructure operations and assets to pay back creditors and keep the island retailer solvent.
• Newspaper competition. After decades under a joint operating agreement, The Honolulu Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin will begin operating independently in March. Both have announced plans for competing afternoon and morning editions.
• Bank of Hawai‘i. The recently appointed chairman and chief executive Michael O’Neill of one of Hawai‘i’s largest banks is reviewing the company and hopes to announce a strategic direction around the time the company reports its first-quarter results this spring.
• Big boxes hit Maui. Home Depot is scheduled to open a 155,000-square-foot store on Maui this spring. Wal-Mart will open its first Maui store, with 300 employees and 141,892-square-feet, this fall.
• Victoria Ward. The $40 million Ward Entertainment Center is scheduled to open next summer with 156,000 square feet of new retail space on Auahi Street that includes a 16-screen Consolidated Theatre.
• Windward Mall. Signature Theatres anticipates opening a long-awaited 10-screen cinema at the mall by May.
|
