STAR-ADVERTISER / 2009
Sports Authority’s expansion at Windward Mall will close the play area, where children are shown having fun, as part of the build-out. A new play area will open near Macy’s in the spring.
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Sports Authority was described as a great fit for Windward Mall, in terms of merchandise offerings, when the retailer opened at Kaneohe’s biggest shopping center in 2012. But the fit wasn’t the best in terms of store size. Now that’s going to change.
Windward Mall announced Wednesday that Sports Authority will expand its store into two empty adjacent retail spaces and a closed children’s play area over the next several months.
The move will enlarge the size of Sports Authority’s store by 46 percent, from 26,657 square feet to 38,804 square feet.
The sporting goods retailer became one of the anchors at the mall in 2012 by filling a space vacated by book retailer Borders. The two neighboring spaces were previously occupied by The Children’s Place and Little People Hawaii.
Mall officials said the existing store will remain open during the expansion. Work to enlarge the store is expected to be finished in the fall.
A new children’s play area will be created on the lower level of the mall in the wing anchored by Macy’s in front of Big City Diner. The area, which is being sponsored by health insurer HMSA and designed with an underwater theme that includes elements resembling a fish tank, a coral stack to climb on and a waterfall slide, should be open in the spring.
