Options for Halawa plan grow

A smaller Aloha Stadium with 30,000 to 40,000 seats, an employment center, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and a range of housing options are envisioned as possible transit-oriented development projects for Halawa.

City officials continue to gather input on a draft Halawa transit-oriented development, or TOD, plan that also estimates that there is a potential for about 2,000 residential units, 300 hotel rooms, 400,000 square feet of office space and 350,000 square feet for retail and entertainment uses in the area. Infrastructure improvements could total an estimated $700 million.

The Aloha Stadium Authority is in the preliminary stages of looking into redeveloping the stadium site, Chairman Charles Toguchi said this week. It is a possibility to rebuild the stadium with about 30,000 to 40,000 seats, he said.

“We’re working with different stakeholders … to see where we’re going to go with this,” Toguchi said after a community meeting Wednesday. “It offers us some opportunities for TOD.”

About 100 officials and community members attended this week’s meeting, where some residents raised concerns about how redevelopment could affect nearby neighborhoods. Some questioned the city’s efforts in communicating with residents.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting said it will gather community input until early January and incorporate it into the final Halawa TOD plan. Officials expect to hold one more meeting to present the final plan in the spring before sending it to the Honolulu Planning Commission. If the commission recommends approval, the TOD proposal would be transmitted to the City Council for review and a final vote.

The goal of TOD is to create mixed-use communities by allowing for a broader range of uses, typically within a quarter-mile to a half-mile of the rail stations. The idea is to direct Oahu’s population growth to the rail corridor, promote multimodal transportation and provide a range of housing options.

The draft Halawa TOD plan outlines a vision for potentially redeveloping about 150 acres around the Aloha Stadium rail station, which includes about 100 acres at the stadium site and 50 acres of adjacent properties, such as the Puuwai Momi housing complex and Aiea Elementary School.

Sarah Salas, a 45-year resident of Makalapa Manor Apartments, across from Puuwai Momi, said she and others are concerned about how potential redevelopment at the stadium will affect their complex.

“Our fear is we’re small, (and) we want to make sure someone is looking out for us,” said Salas, who serves on the complex’s board of directors. “What happens to us?”

Harrison Rue, the city’s TOD administrator, said the Halawa TOD area does not include any residential neighborhoods except for Puuwai Momi. He added that the plan the city is undertaking is a vision and that the state and other landowners would make the final decisions to pursue redevelopment in the area.

“We mostly tend to carve out the neighborhoods that don’t want to see change,” Rue said. “This (area) is really one that … could be a new neighborhood and a destination for nearby neighborhoods, as well as a regional destination for the whole island. So it’s a little bit different than most of our plans.”

Claire Tamamoto, president of the Aiea Community Association, urged more residents, including those who do not live near the stadium, to submit input and get involved in TOD efforts. She added that there are concerns over how developing more densely near the stadium, as well as how noise levels and traffic, would affect the area.

“These residents, they’re unsure and rightfully so. It’s a totally different idea,” Tamamoto said. “I would like to see redevelopment. I think it’ll work. (But) this is a major development. We have to be a stronger community.”

For more information and to view the draft plan, visit 808ne.ws/HalawaTOD.