LAHAINA – Property Development Centers’ proposed redevelopment plans for Lahaina Cannery Mall call for about half of the existing center to be torn down and rebuilt.

According to the company, the real estate subsidiary of Safeway Inc., the mall when rebuilt will be two stories with a three-story parking garage above the area where Longs Drugs is currently located.

The Safeway store will remain in its present location and expand further into the mall.

Longs will have a brand new store close to its current location. While the new store is being built, Longs will continue to operate, and the mall will never fully close.

Although Property Development Centers (PDC) projects that construction won’t begin for at least two years, tenants were recently notified of plans for the center.

Deb Karbo, PDC vice president of development, noted in an e-mail, “That is a long lead-time, but we felt it was important we give our tenants as much time as possible to plan ahead.”

“The purpose of the meeting was to talk to the tenants. It was to provide a broad overview of our plans for the mall, a general time frame and to hear their comments and concerns. Since we are so early in the process, we didn’t have as much detail as everyone wanted, but it was important to provide our tenants with as much information as possible and get their feedback.”

PDC also met with community members living adjacent to the mall, showed them preliminary renderings of the company’s vision for the center and asked for their feedback and input.

Company officials also met with representatives from LahainaTown Action Committee, West Maui Improvement Foundation, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, West Maui Taxpayers Association and some neighboring businesses.

According to Karbo, “The community’s comments have been and will continue to be helpful as we refine our redevelopment plans and address any concerns through the permit process. We are very pleased that so far people generally like what they have seen and are interested in seeing this project started and completed as quickly as possible.”

“The redevelopment is long overdue. The mall was built in 1987, and the last renovation took place in 1999, 15 years ago. We want to take this opportunity to improve the shopping experience for residents and visitors alike and update this shopping center.”

Keith Turner of Safeway said the recent merger between Safeway and grocery chain Albertsons will have no impact on Safeway’s operations locally.