The courts at Pickles on Forté were slammed on Monday — literally.
Just after noon on Monday, most of the courts were full. Players chatted and the sound of play echoed throughout the room.
Pickles at Forté is the first air conditioned, indoor pickleball and social club in Downtown Honolulu. It is located at 1032 Fort Street Mall in the space formerly occupied by Walmart, which has been vacant since the retailer closed that location in early 2023.
It's also part of a larger redevelopment plan in the works by Avalon Group, a Downtown-based full-service real estate development, consulting and sales company that acquired the property in February 2024 for $38.25 million.
Aloha State Daily caught up with Robby Kelley, executive vice president for Avalon, on Monday to talk about Pickles at Forté and the developer's future plans for the site.
Why pickleball?
Kelley says pickleball the fastest growing sport in America.
He and Avalon Group President and CEO Christine Camp also both have a connection to tennis and "know that through experience, how difficult it is to get a court booked for either tennis or pickleball," he told ASD.
Kelley noted, too, that pickleball — and the noise it creates — is a complaint from condominium associations.
"One of the reasons we thought this building was perfect was it contains all the noise," he said.
More broadly, though, Kelley says Avalon has "embarked on a mission over the next few years to revitalize Downtown."
The developer has made several acquisitions in recent years, including the purchase of Topa Financial Center late last year and the 2023 acquisition of Davies Pacific Center.
These revitalization efforts aim to bring more people, both visitors and residents, Downtown.
"Our vision for the Walmart property is for this to be, really, the hub of entertainment and activity, give something for people to do — a reason to stay here, be here after hours, whether you're a resident of Downtown or not," Kelley says. "If you're ... working Downtown, now you have a reason to stay and hang out after work.
Downtown, he says, has a lot going for it, but it's missing "that one hub of entertainment and recreation."
"So that's the motivation behind what we're doing," he told ASD. "[We] just intended this to be something for the community, supporting everything else that we're doing Downtown."
Future plans
According to Kelley, Pickles at Forté is the first of three phases of redevelopment for the former Walmart property.
"This first phase we did because we could do it quickly," he said.
The second phase will be the second floor of the property, which Kelley says encompasses another 30,000 square feet or so. Plans call for approximately 10 pickleball courts as well as a restaurant, full locker rooms and other amenities, he said.
"The second floor, we envision having a larger format sports bar with an open-air lanai overlooking Fort Street Mall," said Kelley.
Plans for phase three include redoing the ground floor, creating small retail and restaurant spaces around the outward facing perimeter, along with three or four pickleball courts remaining, according to Kelley. Avalon, he says, is looking for tenants that would be a "good mix with the pickleball."
Kelley says the developer anticipates work on the second phase to begin in about a year with work on phase three expected to begin within 18 months.
Play (pickle)ball!
Pickles at Forté opened Jan. 20.
"We've just been blown away by the response from the community and the level of interest that we've seen already," Kelley says.
A one-month free trial period is underway and expires Feb. 20.
A Tuesday announcement from Pickles at Forté notes that base memberships start at $100 per month. All membership levels include free daily open play, two hours of free parking, and access to lockers, free Wi-Fi, water stations and changing areas, while additional amenities, based on membership tier, could include the ability to reserve up to seven courts per week and one court per day, unlimited open play and 10% off your first purchase with OnPoint Sports.
A grand opening celebration is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, and will feature free open play, refreshments and giveaways, tours of the facility along with a "Pros vs. Joes" competition at 5 p.m., where community members will challenge professional players, and a pro exhibition at 6 p.m.
For more information or to become a member, visit fortedoho.com or email pickles@fortedoho.com.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
