Walmart’s closure leaves a ‘big empty box’ downtown - Hawaii News Now

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - When Walmart opened a store on Fort Street Mall downtown in 2014, the big-box retailer said it would employ some 150 people.

It was also seen as a big step in revitalizing the downtown area.

But at 7 p.m. Friday, that location closed its doors for the last time. The big signs have already come down, leaving a shadow of what was there, while inside, the store shelves are now bare.

“I used Walmart a lot,” said downtown worker Brett Yamashita. “We bought a lot of things from there. Those last minute groceries that you need, that’s what they’re for. Now they’re gone, and we’ll have an empty box there for a while.”

It’s the biggest empty box downtown, in an area already largely deserted, especially once the workday is over and the sun starts going down -- and others start moving in.

“When you have a boarded up space, it brings in bad elements. Not only homeless, but drug problems, gangs -- it’s not a safe place,” said real estate expert Stephany Sofos.

Sofos also said the bad elements include shoplifters.

“There’s so much shoplifting, and the way the laws are written in Hawaii, that if you shoplift, you’re not going to go to jail, and so people are doing it,” she said.

Walmart isn’t the first national retailer to leave. The old Walgreens on Hotel Street has been empty for several years. And a block away from Walmart, Hawaii’s first Longs Drugs, on Bishop Street, is being replaced by an 88 Mart.

Honolulu City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam wants to see places like the 108,000 square-foot Walmart turned into a residential complex.

“Right now our housing code is very, very restrictive and makes it very difficult to convert these large office spaces or commercial spaces into apartments that people can live in,” Dos Santos-Tam said.

Dos Santos-Tam introduced Bill 21, which would relax certain ventilation and lighting requirements at commercial properties.

“At the end of the day, we cannot have a big empty dark building anchoring Fort Street Mall. It has to something that’s lively and inviting that brings people into our downtown core.”

Two major downtown officer buildings, Davies Pacific Center and 1132 Bishop, are already converting to residential units.

The old Remington Business College building on the corner of Hotel and Bishop is being turned into a hotel, set to open next year.

Amid all the change, neighbors will have to get used to a new sign -- or lack of it -- on what’s now a former Walmart.

“Gonna miss Walmart,” said Yamashita. “Definitely going to miss it.”

Copyright 2023 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Adblock test (Why?)

Read Again https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lmhhd2FpaW5ld3Nub3cuY29tLzIwMjMvMDQvMjIvd2FsbWFydHMtY2xvc3VyZS1sZWF2ZXMtYmlnLWVtcHR5LWJveC1kb3dudG93bi_SAWdodHRwczovL3d3dy5oYXdhaWluZXdzbm93LmNvbS8yMDIzLzA0LzIyL3dhbG1hcnRzLWNsb3N1cmUtbGVhdmVzLWJpZy1lbXB0eS1ib3gtZG93bnRvd24vP291dHB1dFR5cGU9YW1w?oc=5

Bagikan Berita Ini