The City and County of Honolulu is taking another step toward transforming its urban core, choosing a partner to lead master-planning efforts around the Kūwili Station Transit-Oriented Development Redevelopment Area.
DTL, a Honolulu-based Native Hawaiian-owned strategy, planning and design firm — in partnership with Toronto-based BDP Quadrangle, Honolulu-based Wilson Okamoto Corp. and Tokyo-based Nippon Koei — has been selected to do the work following a competitive bid process, it was announced Monday.
BDP Quadrangle brings expertise in transit-oriented development and will support master-planning and urban design, Wilson-Okamoto Corp. will lead traffic analysis and infrastructure coordination while Nippon Koei will offer "systems-level insight" into transportation and urban infrastructure, the city said in the announcement.
Last month, the city issued a request for proposal seeking a multidisciplinary planning and development team to prepare a TOD plan dubbed "Transforming Iwilei-Kapālama: Connecting People and Places," which the RFP noted is a "coordinated TOD and infrastructure investment program for development around the Iwilei-Kapālama sub-corridor."
The effort is a joint initiative of the city's Department of Housing and Land Management, Department of Planning and Permitting and Department of Transportation Services.
The city notes that this will be the first time the Iwilei-Kapālama area will be master-planned through a formalized joint city-state effort, a coordinated partnership between Honolulu and the Governor's Office of Housing "to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing and infrastructure in one of Honolulu’s most strategically located and publicly controlled urban corridors."
According to the city, master-planning efforts will focus on "refining connectivity, improving multi-modal access to transit, and aligning infrastructure investments to support future housing, flood mitigation, and broader development in the area."
Kevin Auger, director-designate of DHLM, said in Monday's announcement that with the Kūwili station design "nearing finalization, and the pending selection of a development partner for the Iwilei Center — the timing is ideal to shape Iwilei into a vibrant, transit-connected neighborhood with the potential to deliver not just hundreds, but thousands of new, affordable homes.”
Auger told Aloha State Daily in June that, in plain terms, "the city is trying to go beyond just talking about future growth and planning, actually beginning to activate the planning efforts with real developments that can deliver more affordable housing.
"Over the years, many plans have outlined what a walkable, transit-oriented, affordable neighborhood could look like in Iwilei-Kapālama — this effort is about putting those ideas into action. It’s the difference between having a blueprint and starting construction."
This effort is different from, but closely related to, a request for qualifications, or RFQ, issued earlier this year for the redevelopment of the city-owned Iwilei Center.
“It’s going to be eye-opening for people to see what transit-oriented development really looks like — getting off a station and being able to walk to housing, services, and destinations without needing to drive,” Tim Streitz, acting TOD Administrator at DPP, said in Monday's announcement. “This effort builds on more than a decade of station area planning and public engagement — and with this partnership, we’re turning that groundwork into a clear, coordinated path for implementation.”
Malia Ka‘aihue, founding partner and president of DTL, said in the announcement that the organization is "honored" to partner with the city.
“This project is about more than infrastructure — it’s about people, connection and building a future that reflects the identity and needs of our communities. Our goal is to create a plan that’s not only actionable, but deeply rooted in the voices of Iwilei and Kapālama, with a bold vision for a livable, equitable, and transit-connected neighborhood.”
According to the city, this effort is supported by a $2 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration's TOD Pilot Program, which was awarded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; a $700,000 state TOD Capital Improvement Planning Grant administered by the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; and $250,000 from the city.
Planning work should begin this summer with community engagement efforts and other "deliverables" planned through 2027.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
