On September 20th, the Hawai'i APA Annual Chapter award recipients were acknowledged at the HCPO Conference in Honolulu.   The award for Urban Design went to the Halawa Area Transit Oriented Development Plan, which seeks to transform the area surrounding the new high speed rail station at Aloha Stadium (and near Pearl Harbor attractions) into a vibrant livable community anchored by a mixed-use sports & entertainment district.   The plan was a collaboration between local and state officials, community members, and a consultant team lead by CallisonRTKL; Keyser Marston was the team member advising on the economics of the proposed plan.

The Aloha Stadium rail station is one of 21 stations being planned for the new rail line being built in Honolulu. The City has been undertaking community planning efforts for the sites, and developing TOD plans for each new station.  To support the City's planning efforts around the Aloha Stadium site, Keyser Marston's Reed Kawahara prepared a Market Opportunities Study to consider development opportunities in the station area, taking into account the possibility of a new state-of-the-art stadium replacing the older Aloha Stadium.  KMA's study is intended to help inform a future and denser mix of land uses that are conducive to the surrounding areas and that will be supported by the real estate market. The TOD plan ultimately proposes a mixed-use sports and entertainment district with a variety of housing choices, commercial uses that will support a large number of employees, and community-oriented open spaces with easy access, all which embody the Aloha spirit for residents, workers and visitors alike.