More than three years after fire tore through Lahaina's historic waterfront, construction crews have broken ground on the first permanent commercial rebuild along Front Street. Arita Poulson General Contracting is leading the reconstruction of 612 Front Street, a project that will bring back a 4,400-square-foot retail building and a separate kiosk to a stretch of the street that has sat largely empty since August 2023.
Project partners and contractors gathered on October 12 for a blessing led by Kahu Wilmont Kahaialiʻi to mark the start of construction, according to Maui Now. The outlet reports that Arita Poulson will lead the reconstruction of 612 Front Street, describing it as the first commercial rebuild on Front Street since the August 2023 wildfire. Pacific Business News similarly identified the project as the first commercial rebuild to break ground on the corridor.
The new building will include a one-story, 4,400-square-foot commercial structure with four street-level bays, plus a detached 310-square-foot kiosk, the same report notes. Builders plan to use fire-resistant materials, including metal roofing and cement board siding in place of wood, while keeping the structures within their original footprints. Construction is expected to take about six months, with tenant build-out to follow and an opening targeted for summer 2027.
Pacific Whale Foundation Set to Return as Anchor Tenant
The property at 612 Front Street is owned by AJI LLC and managed by Pacific Rim Land, per the same account. Pacific Whale Foundation is slated to serve as the building's anchor tenant, with plans to bring its Ocean Store back to Front Street — a notable return for a nonprofit retailer that, like dozens of other businesses, lost its storefront in the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire that destroyed the Pioneer Inn and most of Lahaina's historic town, as Maui Now has separately reported.
Arita Poulson has other active work nearby. The contractor also serves as general contractor for Lahaina Residential, a 60-home community at 1034 Front Street that held its groundbreaking on October 2, and the firm recently completed Bank of Hawaiʻi's new 3,400-square-foot branch at Lahaina Cannery Mall, according to the Maui Now report.
A Slow Road Back for Front Street Commerce
The pace of commercial recovery has been a persistent frustration for business owners. Before the fire, Lahaina businesses generated more than $70 million in monthly revenue and employed about 8,500 people, Maui Now reported in an earlier story. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed to clear 1,390 residential properties in eight months, but it took a full year to clear out 148 commercial properties — a lag that left many business owners waiting far longer than homeowners to even begin planning a rebuild.
Displaced merchants have felt that gap in their bottom lines. CocoNene's former Front Street location averaged $3 million a year in revenue, but its four replacement branches have generated only about 75% of that amount combined, the outlet's reporting found. Tabora Gallery's relocated Māʻalaea shop is making roughly 25% of what it once did in Lahaina.
Interim Marketplace Offers a Different Kind of Return
While 612 Front Street represents the first permanent commercial rebuild, a separate project has already brought a temporary commercial presence back to the corridor. ʻUlu o Lele, described by Hawaiʻi Public Radio as an interim retail and community gathering space, is an $8 million marketplace expected to host between 25 and 50 local vendors. Hawaiian Council is leading the two-year project at the former Outlets of Maui property, with the station reporting an expected opening in September 2026; KITV has separately referred to ʻUlu o Lele as the first commercial project returning to Front Street, describing a planned $8 million buildout with 17 retail spaces, eight food-truck stalls, a stage for live entertainment and gathering areas that will prioritize businesses directly affected by the wildfire.
KITV also reported that five commercial properties had already received rebuilding permits, with two more nearing approval and more than a dozen additional projects under consultation.
Permitting Changes Aim to Speed Up Rebuilding
State and county officials have moved to cut through some of the red flag that slowed early recovery. Hawaiʻi's SB1296 exempts certain reconstructions of structures in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District destroyed by the wildfire from Special Management Area minor permit or use permit requirements, according to the bill text filed with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. The County of Maui has likewise said that properties mauka of Front Street or outside the erosion hazard line are now exempt from SMA rules, a change officials say may let owners apply for building permits and begin reconstruction more quickly.
County planners are also weighing the street's future shape. Design options under consideration include keeping Front Street as a two-lane road, with concepts for the 700 and 800 blocks allowing two-way vehicle access, one-way traffic or pedestrian-only access alongside wider sidewalks, Maui Now has reported. For now, residential rebuilding has outpaced commercial progress by a wide margin, with 64 homes rebuilt in Lahaina and 290 more under construction as of last fall's reporting — a reminder of just how much of Front Street's business district still has yet to return.
