Kamehameha Schools has identified a site in Hawaii Kai for a planned 366-unit retirement community, but the location isn’t going over well with some community leaders.

The trust informed the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board on Tuesday that the $230 million project proposed by a developer is envisioned on the site of Kalama Village Shopping Center.

Earlier this year, Kamehameha Schools and the developer would not disclose where in Hawaii Kai the project was intended, despite the developer lobbying for and receiving approval from the Legislature to issue up to $500 million in private tax-­exempt special purpose revenue bond financing.

The earlier secrecy, which also included refusals to identify principals of the development firm, Luana Kai — A Life Plan Community, prompted community criticism of the initiative and led to speculation as to where the project could possibly be built, including a par-3 golf course inland of the Ka Iwi coast, a “great lawn” fronting Maunalua Bay, farmland in Kamilonui Valley and Kalama Village, all owned by the trust.

Now that the site has been revealed, concerns are being raised over its appropriateness given the B-1 “neighborhood business” zoning designation that has a 40- foot height limit.

“The community cannot stand this kind of a development in a bedroom community,” board member Marian Grey said during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

Greg Knudsen, a board member for more than 20 years, described how he imagines several 10-story buildings rising based on the number of units and land area.

“It would be absolutely inappropriate within this low-rise community,” he said. “It would dominate and overpower the residential setting here.”

Comm­Pac, a local public relations firm representing the developer, sent the board a statement Monday saying the project serving about 450 seniors would have a positive impact on East Oahu and be a community asset that creates jobs, boosts local merchant revenue and reduces migration of Hawaii seniors to the mainland.

CommPac has also noted that the developer is set up to be a nonprofit entity governed by a local volunteer board of directors led by longtime Hawaii doctor David McEwan.

Kamehameha Schools in its statement to the board said it recently sought proposals to lease the Kalama Village site and received a solid bid from the nonprofit Luana Kai entity in partnership with a national senior-­living development firm that helped create Kahala Nui, a six-story retirement complex with 392 units built nearly 20 years ago on 7 acres in Kahala.

“For years we’ve recognized that a retail center might not be the best fit for the (Kalama Village) site,” said the statement from Eric Ogata, the trust’s senior manager for Hawaii Kai and Kahala assets.

The statement also noted that Kamehameha Schools is discussing relocation options with Kalama Village tenants and that the senior living plan is still in an early stage.

Kalama Village was built in 1991 by California-based development firm Bedford Properties on 3.9 acres leased from the trust. The 19,275-square-foot center is fully or near fully occupied by nine tenants, including Thai Valley Cuisine, Ono Seafood Hawaii, Hawaii Balloon Co., Carports Hawaii and Grace Church Kalama Valley. Other tenants provide auto, tax, pool and construction services.

A grassy 2.5-acre undeveloped parcel adjacent to the center is also zoned for neighborhood business use. Under this zoning, special needs housing for the elderly is not permitted.

Kamehameha Schools said rezoning would be necessary for the project to proceed, and that it is excited about the opportunity to provide more homes for kupuna, who have far too few options in a difficult local housing market.

Elizabeth Reilly, another neighborhood board member, said she’s not opposed to senior living in the community but is concerned about potential building heights obscuring scenic mountain views protected in the city’s East Honolulu Sustainable Communities Plan.

Knudsen made a similar comment. “I don’t think anyone would argue against another senior center with some affordable dimensions to it,” he said. “The only real issue is the site.”

An existing senior-living community exists in Hawaii Kai off Kawaihae Street in Kaalakei Valley.

This project, Hawaii Kai Retirement Community, was built in the late 1990s with about 370 units in one- to three-story buildings on 22 acres, and received positive neighborhood board support at the time.

The general manager of the property, Adam Dolak, told the board that he has concerns about the lack of transparency from Luana Kai over its plans.

“I think we need to be very careful about what we allow into this community,” he said. “To dump several hundred additional homes in what is currently a commercial retail establishment could pose serious challenges for a lot of the infrastructure in this community.”

In testimony to lawmakers earlier this year, Luana Kai said its preliminary plan calls for 260 independent-living apartments, 40 assisted-­living apartments, 30 memory­-­care apartments and 36 skilled-nursing suites for seniors age 62 or older in a setting with restaurants, green spaces, activities and medical care.

“Luana Kai will provide housing in an attractive and upscale design, with green spaces and community connections,” the company said in testimony seeking the bond financing approval. “The developers envision commercial businesses at the ground level open to the neighborhood, including a possible medical clinic, coffee house, etc.”