Kaka’Ako Transit Oriented Development Overlay Plan
Honolulu, HI
VIA led the urban design framework, and land use strategy for the 450-acre Mauka district in the heart of downtown Honolulu, supporting a team led by Lee Sichter, LLC. Planned for three light rail stations, the TOD Overlay sets development and regulatory standards for Honolulu’s most visible redevelopment area that encompasses some of Honolulu’s most significant consolidated urban properties.
Over three subsequent phases, VIA was responsible for the TOD Land Use Alternatives to inform the EIS analysis, station integration concepts and an urban form and aesthetic analysis. The Kaka`ako TOD Overlay Plan promotes street-level activity, with safe, comfortable public spaces. Urban Design strategies clarify priorities for the relationships between people, landscape, and the built environment, including planned rapid transit.
The TOD Overlay Plan allows for selective introduction of both height and density and designates a set of design principles and recommendations that guide the placement and design of new building forms (with a focus on high rise multifamily), balancing additional capacity with elements that help to create a comfortable, livable urban location.
VIA collaborated with Leland Group to develop a set of prototypical buildings that helped the client evaluate incentive approaches to achieve public amenity. The team provided a range of massing studies and development concept scenarios for key sites to showcase the relationship between development incentives (such as increasing allowed floor area ratios), requirements (such as requiring developers to provide more affordable housing), and outputs (development feasibility).