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From Don Quijote to Target
The Kailua store was first expected in 2012. It opened in March 2015. In between came a lease purchase, neighbourhood objections and the discovery of Native Hawaiian burials on the parcel.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| October 2009 | Target confirms plans for Kailua. The seven-acre Hahani Street parcel is occupied by a Don Quijote store; the land belongs to Kaneohe Ranch, under a ground lease running to 2022. |
| February 2010 | Target is under contract to buy the lease from Japan-based Don Quijote. The design has to respect Kailua's 40-foot height limit, and no parking structure is planned. Don Quijote staff have been told their jobs will end. |
| 2010 | The Kailua Neighborhood Board complains about a lack of information and raises traffic on the two-lane roads and the effect on nearby small businesses. |
| Summer 2012 | A surveyor finds two sets of unmarked skeletal remains in the former Don Quijote parking lot. They are determined to be Native Hawaiian and at least 50 years old, on kuleana land once claimed by Queen Kalama. |
| December 2012 | The State Historic Preservation Division asks for public information about the remains. Target redesigns the project so the iwi stay undisturbed. |
| 2 April 2014 | Target formally announces the Kailua store for March 2015. |
| 4 March 2015 | Kailua and Kahului (Target's first Maui store) open the same morning. News reports put the Kailua store more than two years behind its original July 2012 schedule. |
About the numbers. Target's announcement said about 134,000 sq ft and about 300 jobs; the Star-Advertiser reported about 130,000 sq ft and roughly 500 workers across the Kailua and Kahului stores combined. Both are listed here because both were published.
The burial finding is why the project changed shape: instead of moving the iwi (ancestral remains), Target redrew its plans around them.
Sources
- Target keeps plans quiet, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 10 February 2010
- Comment Soon On 'Iwi At Kailua Target Parcel, MidWeek, 9 January 2013
- Target to Open New Store in Kailua, Hawaii, Target Corporation press release, 2 April 2014
- Bagless Target stores open in Kailua, Kahului, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 5 March 2015
- Target opens Hawaii's newest locations in Kailua, Kahului, Hawaii News Now, March 2015