50 Years of MacNaughton: Building Community Through Our Shopping Centers

Building Community Through Our Shopping Centers: From Retail Landlord to Experience Curator

What is a Customer Experience Center? It is the latest evolution of what MacNaughton has been doing for more than 50 years—shaping Hawai‘i’s retail landscape specifically to adapt and innovative to meet the needs and bring more enjoyment and ease of living to our communities.

While MacNaughton started as with a more typical landlord focus, bringing big-box stores, coffee and smoothie franchises, and national chain restaurants to the Islands, MacNaughton has evolved into a curator of consumer experiences, creating dynamic destinations that bring people together, support local shops and restaurants, and offer in-person moments for shoppers and their families that simply can’t be replicated online.

 

Creating Vibrant Retail Destinations

Fifty years into our real estate development and investment journey in Hawai`i, our shopping centers have become designed to be more than places to shop—they have become gathering spaces where families dine, friends connect, and communities thrive. Through the evolution of online shopping, as well as the unprecedented challenges of COVID, MacNaughton evolved and further leaned into the experiential aspects of our shopping centers and, in particular, giving our local communities great reasons to experience and enjoy our retail offerings in person – with entertainment activations, events, surprise-and-delight offerings, art installations, and more impactful holiday decorations and photo bus opportunities!

 

With a deep understanding of Hawai‘i’s unique market, we’ve developed and transformed retail centers across the state with more-and-more local restaurant and retail tenants, as well as exceptional community events that rival and even outshine many on the U.S. mainland. Today, these include:

  • Kapolei Commons – A fee simple, premier open-air shopping destination serving West O‘ahu with national retailers, dining, and entertainment.

    • Over the years, we’ve hosted a range of programs that bring people together—from our signature Touch-A-Truck events and drive-in movie nights during the COVID era, to public art installations and family dance celebrations that spotlight local culture and creativity.

    • We’re especially proud of our collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu’s Academy of Creative Media. Through this partnership, our Kapolei Commons center has sponsored scholarships for students enrolled in a film-producing course. Student-created short trailers have been showcased on our on-site movie screens, giving emerging filmmakers a real-world platform while enriching the experience for our community.

  • Kona Commons – The largest open-air shopping center on Hawai‘i Island, offering retail, dining, and essential services.

    • At Kona Commons, community programming is core to how the center comes to life. Throughout the year, we host monthly artisan markets that showcase local makers and small businesses, alongside signature events such as Splish Splash Summer, a high-energy seasonal activation for families, AstroDay—an educational partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi that brings hands-on astronomy experiences to the community—and a beloved Christmas character parade.

    • Kona Commons has won best shopping center in Kona 11 of the last 13 years.

  • Moanalua Shopping Center – A retail hub developed in partnership with the U.S. Navy, requiring an act of Congress to bring it to life.

  • Stadium Marketplace – A longstanding community favorite near Aloha Stadium, blending shopping, dining, and local services. Some may recall this location as the former Castle Park. It then housed Kmart and Sack ‘n Save, amongst other retails; it currently houses ReUse Hawai`i, Starbucks, McDonalds, Auto Zone and O’Reilly. In the future, what’s certain is that MacNaughton will ensure it serves our community well.

  • Hokua Retail – On the ground and second floors of the first luxury condominium development in Hawai`i for MacNaughton, we have retained an interest in the  luxury and lifestyle shops including Panya, Tango, Salon Blanc, Bank of Hawai`i and more, all tailored to serve our residents in Hokua and nearby residents and businesspeople in urban Honolulu.

  • Arden Waikiki Restaurant – MacNaughton recently expanded its hospitality portfolio with the opening of Arden Waikiki, a full-service restaurant located inside the Lotus Honolulu Hotel. Designed to complement the hotel’s relaxed, refined atmosphere, Arden Waikiki adds a vibrant culinary experience to the property while reinforcing MacNaughton’s integrated approach to creating destinations where hospitality, dining, and sense of place intersect.

  • Hotel Retail – We also support several retail concepts on the ground floors of our hotels. Our latest retail tenant at Hotel Renew is As You Like Waikiki, a matcha and musubi concept straight from New York City

 Looking Ahead

As we celebrate 50 years, we remain committed to evolving with Hawai‘i’s consumers—continuing to evolve and create vibrant, engaging, and community-driven retail destinations that stand the test of time.

Katie Kaanapu