Lahaina Rebuild Update... The New Front Street Plan Revealed !!!

Aloha everyone. So we're coming up on the three-year anniversary of the fire in Lahaina town and the question that everybody has been asking since day one is what will the new Lahaina look like? In particular, I know a lot of people including myself have been frustrated by the lack of information and progress that's being shown in the commercial areas on Front Street. However, earlier this week Maui County held a press conference and shared an update on the progress being made with some of the commercial permits in this area. So we now have some solid information on what some of the commercial buildings on Front Street will actually look like. I'm actually standing right next to the area where the first businesses will open up and it sounds like that'll happen much sooner than most people expected. It might not look like it now but they anticipate completion of this project and the opening of businesses by as early as September or October of this year which is just a few months away. In this video, we're going to get the drone up in the air and I'll show you what Front Street looks like now and we'll talk about which properties are planning to rebuild and what that might look like. Let's go take a look. But before we jump right into the drone footage, I want to show you this map that was provided by the county that shows the permit status of the commercial properties on Front Street. The map also shows lots that are historic sites, part of the Royal Lahaina Complex, or just county parking. Our flight is going to start right next to Lahaina Shores Condominium Complex. We're going to head north passing the banyan tree and the harbor ending at the outlets of Maui. We also receive some architectural drawings for the buildings that are in the permitting process. We'll take a closer look at each of these at the end of the video. So make sure you watch to the end if you want to see some of what Front Street will look like after it's rebuilt. Let's take a look at what we can see from the air right now. We're starting just before the area marked as the Royal Complex Restoration on the map that we just looked at. On the mountain side of Front Street, the Royal Complex starts just past Shaw Street and on the ocean side, it starts just past the concrete slab where the shops at 505 Front Street were located prior to the fire. And for the most part on the ocean side, the Royal Complex will extend all the way to the Banyan Tree Park. And on the mountain side, it'll extend to the edge of the county parking lot. Now past that county parking lot, we're actually going to see the first commercial building that has started construction on Front Street. But before we get there, let's go over some of the permitting statistics that the county shared. They say that five permits have officially been issued for a commercial building in this area. In addition to that, there's another two that are in process. And on top of that, there's an additional 12 that are in the consultation phase. Out of all of those, only one is currently under construction and I believe that's what we're approaching right now. Notice the construction fence all the way around the 612 Front Street lot. A permit has also been issued for nearby 632 Front Street which most recently held Paya Fish Market and was historically known as the old Burger King building. Okay, we're now going to fly right over the Banyan Tree and on the other side of Front Street from the Banyan Tree is where the Wharf Cinema Center was prior to the fire. And on the ocean side of Front Street is where the Pioneer Inn was prior to the fire. So far, I haven't seen any updates on either of those projects, the Pioneer Inn or the Wharf Cinema Center. So, if anyone has any additional information, feel free to share it in the comments. On the right hand side, we're now coming up on the Baldwin Museum historical site. And according to the map that was released by the county, the buildings that are still standing on the ocean front here are in consultation for permit. On the mountain side here, there's three properties that are in various stages of their permitting process including 714, 724, and 744 Front Street. The most recognizable is 744 which is the old Lahaina store also known as the Fleetwood building which we're flying past right now. By the way, if you're curious to see what this stretch of Front Street looks like from the ground, I recently released a walking tour of this area right after it had its official blessing. If you haven't already seen it, you might want to check out that video next. We're now coming up on the intersection of Lahaina Luna Road and Front Street and on the ocean side here is where popular restaurants like Cheeseburger in Paradise, Kemos, Lahaina Fish Company, and Lahaina Yacht Club were located prior to the fire. Unfortunately, none of these properties are close to receiving permits and it is uncertain if they ever will. For sure, the properties that had over water leases will not be renewed and the county has reached out to all of these owners with proposals to buy their land. It's important to note that the buyout program is 100% voluntary and the government will not be using eminent domain. Okay, we're now coming up on the intersection at Papalawa Street and Front Street and on the other side of that is where the outlets of Maui was located prior to the fire. This is actually where I was standing as I recorded the intro to this video and this is where the first businesses will be opening up in this area. Plans are now in place for a fast-tracked temporary hub of 17 modular units plus food trucks. The project is called Ulu Olele Marketplace and it will be built in the parking lot area of the former outlets of Maui. I'll show you some renderings of the project here in a second. The goal is to open the marketplace by September or October of this year as a way to bring some much-needed life into this area. Like I said, it's just a temporary project expected to operate for about two years while the permanent concrete and wood rebuilding of the historic core of Front Street continues. These temporary structures will all be designed to reflect the historic character of Lahaina and they will be 100% solar powered. There will be a dedicated committee that selects which businesses go into this project and priority will be given to businesses that lost operations because of the 2023 wildfires. Here's a site map of the project. You see Waine'e Street is at the top and Papalau Street is on the right hand side. In addition to the 17 modular units, there will be space for eight local food trucks and the venue will include a performance stage for live nightly entertainment and community programming. The marketplace is expected to host 25 to 50 local vendors at a time and sustain an estimated 90 jobs. Okay, let's take a look at some of the renderings that they shared. This first one helps us to understand how the project will be laid out. This next one gives us a better understanding of what the performance stage and dining areas will look like. They also shared a handful of renderings showing what the design of the modular units will be. I just added the animation to give it some life. So that was the temporary marketplace that will be fast-tracked and potentially opening up in just a few months. But what about the permanent businesses in this area? What will they look like? Well, let's head back to Front Street and I'll show you some of the architectural elevations that were provided for some of these properties. Let's start with the most recognizable one. This is 744 Front Street, which is the old Lahaina Store, also known as the Fleetwood Building. This is the structure that is still standing that we flew past earlier in this video. As you can see, the pre-fire photo on the right looks almost identical to the architectural drawing on the left. So it looks like this building will maintain its historical characteristics, which I know will make a lot of people very happy. Okay, next let's take a look at 632 Front Street. This is the location known to many as the Old Burger King Building, but was most recently housed by Paia Fish Market. To me, this building does look like the design has changed, but in my opinion, that's actually a good thing. I think it appears to fit the historical characteristics of the area even better in the new design, and I always thought that the Burger King Building did look somewhat out of place the way it was. Next, we'll look at 612 Front Street, which apparently was known as the Six Fathoms Building, and I assume it's because it had space for six tenants. Again, the pre-fire photo looks nearly identical to the new drawings, so it will also keep its historic look and feel. This is 724 Front Street, which housed one of the ABC stores, and is also permitted to be nearly identical to its original construction. And last, we have 714 Front Street, which is moving forward with a historically accurate rebuild. So we finally have some answers to the question that we've been asking for a long time. What will the new Front Street look like? So far, it looks like the Front Street buildings that are in the process of permitting will maintain a near identical look as what they were before the fire, which is exactly what most of the community was asking for. Now, while we're here, I want to show you one more thing. Let's go take a closer look at the harbor and the banyan tree while we recap the new information that we just received. According to the county, there are close to 20 commercial properties that are at various stages of permitting, but most of them are just in the consultation phase. That said, one property just started construction, so hopefully this will be the start of some positive momentum. And while the permanent structures are being built, there will be a temporary marketplace that is open to both locals and tourists that will start to bring some life and energy into the area. Now honestly, three years is a long time to wait for the first commercial building to start construction, but I personally am very happy to see at least some progress. That said, I'm curious to hear what you think. Let me know in the comments what you think of all these new details. And if you appreciate these video updates of Lahaina Town, don't forget to hit the like button for me and subscribe for more updates in the future. And if you really want to support the work that I do on this channel, consider joining as a member as well. I'll share a link to the membership options in the description or the QR code on screen will take you there as well. Thanks again for your continued support. I hope to see you all on the next video. Aloha.