The original Aloha Stadium construction project in the 1970s forced people out of their homes. The one that is being planned to replace it will create housing.

Kuulei Distajo Serna spoke Monday night about watching family members, including her great-grandmother Annie Anahiwa Hukiku Flores, forced to move more than 50 years ago so the stadium could be built.

Serna said it was not pono, not fair. Still, she spoke with aloha, not anger.

“I always knew my ohana was displaced. I was there a lot when I was a little girl. When I was a toddler my tutu and aunty babysat me,” said Serna, among a gathering of close to 100 at the stadium’s hospitality room. “But the stadium was a benefit to the community, including us.”

Serna said she does not speak for all who were displaced from Halawa. A total of 107 households were forced out, according to a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article published July 10, 1971, which was 21 days before the state-imposed deadline to move.

She spoke at a community gathering where Aloha Halawa District Partners presented plans and answered questions about the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District. AHDP doesn’t have a signed contract yet, but it is the state’s lone preferred offeror in a project that hopes to have a completed new stadium by 2028, and also build up 93 acres surrounding the stadium with a mix of real estate including homes and businesses. An elementary school, neighborhood store, hotel and plenty of greenery are also planned components of the 25-year project, according to designer Stanford Carr.

After a sit-down with Carr, Serna expressed optimism it will be done with integrity.

“He really didn’t have to meet with us, but he did,” she said. “And he really listened.”

NASED wiil include “a place of remembrance for those families that lived in this area,” Carr said. “We want to make sure that as we move forward we pay homage.”

Carr envisions buildings with businesses on the ground floor with three additional stories of residences. Taller buildings will be interspersed.

The Cordish Companies, with the Las Vegas Sphere as one of its more notable recent projects, is another key component of AHDP. President Joseph Weinberg noted that if you want to get a peak at Cordish’s sports projects you can see them during the Super Bowl broadcast, which will break away to show them hosting celebrating fans at Xfinity Live! in Philadelphia and KC Live! when the teams score Sunday.

Aloha Live! will in some ways be like KC Live!, which is a two-story event venue near Arrowhead Stadium.

Plans for the multi-use stadium include University of Hawaii football and professional soccer and rugby teams.

The new Aloha Stadium and adjoining area will feature bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues, but AHDP also wants to honor Hawaii’s history, and is working with the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and others.

“Why not have a Hawaiian music hall of fame?” Carr said.

AHDP’s plans also include placid areas, including passive parks for relaxing, and active parks for organized activities.

WCIT Architecture president Robert Iopa spoke of highlighting Hawaii through indigenous architecture.

“A native Hawaiian born and raised in Hilo, he is a respected advocate and creative interpreter of culture, most notably that of the host Hawaiian culture, but also that of the diverse ethnicities of Hawaii,” the Rose Center for Public Leadership wrote of Iopa.

It all looks and sounds great, but much still needs to be done for NASED to succeed.

Carr said he wants “five structures” up along with the stadium in the fall of 2028, but also that it will take 10 months to demolish the old stadium.

“We want to supercharge it with a shot of adrenaline. Not one at a time. We can start very aggressively,” he said, adding that only part of AHDP’s all-star lineup was represented Monday night. “We want Castle and Cooke, Howard Hughes and other builders to join us.”

A concerned swap meet vendor spoke of being forgotten about in all of the excitement.

“We hope to upgrade the swap meet,” said Carr, trying to assure the vendor he is aware of its value. “We’re not putting you in the back of the bus,” Carr said. “We understand it’s people’s livelihoods.”

And this time, unlike in 1971 it’s providing homes, not taking them away.

“I want to mahalo them for their intentions,” Serna said.