A 30,000-square-foot flagship store will be mostly above The Cheesecake Factory. The store will be 25 percent bigger than Hilo Hattie's main store on Nimitz Highway. Above Hilo Hattie on the third floor is space for an anchor restaurant, to be announced.

Waikiki's Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is about six months away from completing a nearly two-year renovation costing more than $84 million.

Recently, the mall began shaping its envisioned public centerpiece — a garden for gatherings, cultural programs and performances set among a coconut grove with 70 or so trees and many other plants.

When completed, the 293,000-square-foot open-air mall will be 17,000 square feet bigger, with about 110 stores, restaurants and entertainment attractions on four levels.

Today, only about 20 percent of the mall is populated by tenants because of construction. Occupancy of the mall, which remains open during remodeling, is expected to gradually increase over the next several months as former and existing tenants move to new space.

About 92 percent of Royal Hawaiian tenant space is leased, and the 8 percent balance is under negotiation and expected to be leased and filled by the time the center holds a grand reopening in mid-2007.

The first new anchor tenant slated to open is restaurant Señor Frog's in March. Other new additions including restaurant P.F. Chang's, a flagship Hilo Hattie store, a food court and a Roy Tokujo theatrical production and nightclub should open by mid-2007. With tenant improvements included, total renovation spending may reach $160 million to $170 million.

Center owner Kamehameha Schools recently provided details and new artist conceptions for its project, shown here.

1. Hilo Hattie
A 30,000-square-foot flagship store will be mostly above The Cheesecake Factory. The store will be 25 percent bigger than Hilo Hattie's main store on Nimitz Highway. Above Hilo Hattie on the third floor is space for an anchor restaurant, to be announced.

2. Royal Grove
A garden grove of roughly 70 coconut trees and other plants is envisioned as the cultural centerpiece of the mall in a tribute to what Kamehameha Schools said was, in the 19th century, a grove of 10,000 coconut trees on the mall site, known as Helumoa.

The garden will be roughly the size of downtown Honolulu's Tamarind Park, and will include a pond, artesian fountain, stream, performance areas with seating and a statue of Kamehameha Schools founder Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

A pedestrian bridge replaces three concrete spans removed to restore a view of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

3. Waikïkï Nei
A $15 million theatrical production, nightclub and ultra lounge is being developed by local showman Roy Tokujo of Cove Marketing and Canada-based Realisations of Montreal.

The 760-seat theater, with moving stages and acrobatic rigging, is being built for the show, which is in conceptual production and will focus on the history of Waikiki.

Two shows are planned nightly, with general admission estimated from $50 to $70, and $30 to $50 for children under 12.

"We're very excited to bring a show of this caliber to Waikiki," said Tokujo, who produced the Maui show " 'Ulalena." "There is nothing like this anywhere in the Islands."

After the Waikiki show, half the theater's seating will retract to create a nightclub with capacity for 1,000 people. Kamehameha Schools said the club will be in the style of the MGM Grand's Studio 54 in Las Vegas with acrobatic performances, high-tech videos, lighting and sound.

The theater lobby is being styled like the upscale Tabu ultra lounge in Las Vegas.

4. Pa’ina Lanai
A nine-tenant food court, including a bar called Da Sand Bar, will occupy former second-floor McInerny space overlooking the coconut grove.

5. New makai entrance
A new entrance to the mall is being created with a porte-cochere for vehicles and pedestrians traveling through the Sheraton Waikiki hotel traffic circle. Previously, there was no mall entrance fronting the beachfront hotel tower.

"Really, it's a big welcome mat to our neighbors and their guests," said Susan Todani, director of development and planning for Kamehameha Schools.?

6. Restaurant anchor additions
Señor Frog's, a fast-growing chain out of Mexico, and P.F. Chang's are being added to spaces fronting Lewers Street, where Outrigger Enterprises is close to opening its restaurant and retail development Waikiki Beach Walk.

Other new or renovated stores and restaurants opening throughout the mall:
• South Beach, Fla.-based Doraku Sushi
• L'Occitane
• Kate Spade
• Fendi
• Starbucks