The once kitschy marketplace lined with carts full of costume jewelry, faux lei and made-in-China trinkets is a stark contrast to the glitzy, $500 million shopping center opening Thursday in the heart of Waikiki.

The “re-imagined” International Market Place has 345,000 square feet of upscale retailers and “unique to market” restaurants. It replaces the aging, run-down maze of cheap souvenirs, tacky tikis and fortunetellers that was all part of the ambience of the old bazaar, which lost much of the appeal it had decades ago when entertainer Don Ho regularly performed there and surfer Duke Kaha­namoku greeted patrons outside his namesake nightclub in the 1960s.

Besides its name and circa-1850s banyan tree, the new marketplace will be virtually unrecognizable to the residents and visitors who passed through over the decades.

It took a two-year construction project that employed 1,000 workers to convert the 60-year-old Waikiki bazaar into a three-level, open-air luxury mall.

“The site has an incredible history, and we are excited to bring a new collection of retailers and restaurants to the heart of Waikiki,” said Michael Fenley, the center’s general manager.

Only about half of the shops will open Thursday.

By the fall of 2017, the bulk of tenants are expected to be in operation, said William Taubman, chief operating officer of Taubman Centers Inc., which redeveloped the property, owned by Queen Emma Land Co.

“You’re building a project for the millennium. It doesn’t really matter who’s there on Day One,” he said, adding that the center will be 80 percent leased by opening day. “What really matters is what is the ultimate merchandising content of the center. We have a good range of designer to contemporary to main street brands. It’s going to be one of the most interesting merchandise mixes that anyone’s ever seen in a project like this.”

The center will be anchored by a three-level, 80,000-square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue, the first full-line Saks in Hawaii. The shopping center will include a Grand Lanai with 10 restaurants on the third floor, including Stripsteak by Michael Mina, Eating House 1849 by Roy Yamaguchi, Yauatcha by Hakkasan, Flour & Barley, Kona Grill, Baku Japanese Robata Bar, Herringbone, Goma Tei Ramen and a gourmet food hall called The Street, also by Mina. One space has yet to be leased on the third floor.

“It’s a fresh take on the International Market Place. We anticipate lots of foot traffic due to where we’re positioned at both entrances on Kalakaua and Kuhio,” said Shelley Cramer, vice president and general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue. “We definitely feel that this will be a profitable store for us.”

International Market Place executives are hoping the varied dining options along with nightly Polynesian entertainment and a new 700-stall parking garage will draw significant tourists from both Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues, as well as residents who don’t typically frequent the bustling tourist district.

“We believe that we will be very effective in drawing off of those thoroughfares and that the International Market Place will be a very busy retail, shopping, restaurant, dining and entertainment venue,” said Fenley.

The developer created three courtyards with historical markers that tell the story of the original lands and people pre-contact, along with statues of the royal family and a bridge that traverses through the branches of its famous Indian banyan tree, complete with a re-creation of a treehouse built by Don the Beachcomber in the 1950s.

The center’s design includes an 80-foot torch tower, a three-story water wall and an interactive entertainment stage. Roughly 2,500 people will be employed at the center.

About 90 percent of the tenants are national and international brands, said Taubman, who expects the percentage of local and tourist shoppers to be “a pretty even mix.”

“In general, people are interested in most of the same key brands. Today we live in a world that’s very international,” he said. “We have to expect there will be a real overlap in what the customers are interested in between the Chinese, Japanese and domestic customer.”

For Shinola, a Detroit-based retailer of watches, bicycles and leather goods, the center is a chance to expand to an international market.

“There are a ton of international tourists who will be visiting the center,” said Shinola President Jacques Panis, who is opening his 20th store and first Hawaii location at the marketplace. “We feel that will give us the opportunity to expose this great American brand to a very broad international consumer. We believe this store will be very successful given again the quality of shopper and experience included in the International Market Place. It’s a hotbed for tourists and a place where tourism is thriving, and we’re excited to be in the middle of that.”