Pearlridge Center saying farewell to Uptown, Downtown names

So long, Uptown. See ya, Downtown.

Hawaii’s second-largest shopping mall, Pearlridge Center, is getting rid of long- standing names for sections of the Aiea retail complex.

Pearlridge management recently began installing new signs in part of the mall long known as Downtown as part of recently completed renovations, and a ceremony is planned for Feb. 8 to “officially say farewell” to the old names designating four sections of the property.

The new names will be “Mauka” for Uptown, anchored by Macy’s, and “Wai Makai” for Downtown, anchored by Sears.

Also, Pearlridge West, which includes Anna Miller’s and Bed Bath & Beyond, will become Ko Makai while Pearlridge East, which includes Straub and Big City Diner, will become Awa Makai.

Leenus Chock of Aiea, a regular Pearlridge customer, said he appreciates the name changes.

“It brings some Hawaiian to it,” he said. “It brings a local feeling to the mall.”

Nanakuli resident Darrell Hanohano, who grew up in Halawa near the mall, also said Hawaiian names are an improvement for sections of the mall that he still remembers by older official names Phase 1 and Phase 2.

“It’s about time they did ’em as Hawaiian,” he said of the phase names.

Mall management said the new names were selected with the help of local consulting firm DTL and were inspired by elements of the ahupuaa, or mountain-to-sea land segment, in the area named Kalauao.

The “wai” in Wai Makai means water and references springs that feed a neighboring watercress farm. “Makai” means toward the ocean. “Ko” means sugar cane and is a reference to plantation lands that once filled much of Aiea. “Awa” means harbor and is a reference to nearby Pearl Harbor. “Mauka” means toward the mountains.

Pearlridge was built in two phases that opened in 1972 and 1976, respectively. The Uptown and Downtown names for Phase 1 and 2 were attached in 1995 in conjunction with a $16 million renovation that attempted to create two different shopping atmospheres: a more fashionable Uptown and a more casual Downtown.

The mall’s current owner, Washington Prime Group Inc., began renovating the Downtown section in 2017. David Cianelli, mall general manager, said in a statement that there are no definite plans to renovate the Uptown section, which still bears Uptown and Phase 1 signs.

Carol Miyamoto, who grew up in Pearl City, said she could never keep straight which side was Uptown or Downtown, so she appreciates the newest name changes. “I think it’ll be better,” she said.

Lynda Takara of Nuuanu said she will retain the Uptown and Downtown designations in her mind, “because that’s how (it was when) we were brought up,” she said. “That’s how we remember it. It will always be Uptown and Downtown.”

Takara’s sister, Cynthia Souza, said she likes the new names and will adjust to them. However, she also said she understands how some people hold onto old names for things that change. “My husband still calls Macy’s Liberty House,” she said.