Maui Business Report
Wailuku Toasts Growth of New Businesses
Municipal center, street cleanup contributes to town’s revitalization
A new bar is just one, of several new businesses and restaurants in Wailuku, says Erin Wade, small town planner with the Maui County Planning Department, who is helping coordinate Wailuku redevelopment efforts. It’s part of a revitalization she hopes will get an even bigger boost with the construction of a new parking and event facility, scheduled to begin toward the end of next year.
Longtime fixtures like Request Music Hawaii have been joined by new businesses in Wailuku. | Photos: Courtesy of Maui Planning Department
The three-story civic complex would include a 10,000-square-foot farmer’s market and food hub modeled after Seattle’s Pike Place market, as well as a public meeting space, county offices, and an outdoor stage and seating area for events — like community group performances or school choir concerts. “There isn’t really a venue for those things in the Central Maui area right now,” Wade says.
Patrons stop for a cup at Wailuku Coffee Co. | Photo: Colleen Uechi / Maui News; Courtesy of Maui Planning Department
The new project would also include a parking structure, something badly needed in Wailuku, she says. “It’s a small town, and many of the buildings are historic, there’s no space for on-site parking,” Wade says. “It opens the door for more restaurants and retail to come in.”
Design on the project is underway.
Another part of the town’s revitalization has been the addition of a “clean and safe” team, Wade adds.
Artist Philip Sabado in his Wailuku studio. | Photo: Colleen Uechi / Maui News; Courtesy of Maui Planning Department
The program includes street sweeping and trash removal on Market Street twice daily, as well as safety ambassadors who roam the town, calling social workers or police officers for assistance with needed. The program has helped reduce the impacts of homelessness and crime in the town, which had been increasing earlier in the decade. “It’s changed the dynamic of the neighborhood,” Wade says.
