Pacific Business News

Commercial Real Estate

By Stephanie Salmons

October 13, 2021

The state on Tuesday posted a request for proposals for the real estate development portion of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, or NASED.

The project will include the construction of a new stadium facility as well as a surrounding entertainment district on the grounds of the existing Aloha Stadium site in Halawa.

The real estate project is expected to encompass approximately 73 of the site’s 98 acres, and include retail, residential, commercial, hotels, hospitality, cultural and community facilities as well as roads, parking, public spaces and other amenities, a news release stated.

“From the stadium authority perspective we are really, really excited about what this district and the development of the district means for the people of Hawaii and the community we serve,” Ross Yamasaki, chair of the Aloha Stadium Authority, said during a news conference Tuesday. “We feel it’s a great opportunity to sustain the mission of the stadium authority over a long period. And today marks a significant milestone in the release of the real estate RFP … and it’s being done in a manner that timing-wise we can receive responses in a way that is timed with the stadium project RFP …”

The request for proposals is the first part of a two-stage procurement process.

In this first stage, developers are asked to provide their experience and qualifications with similar projects, as well as a preliminary description of how they see the real estate project complementing and supporting the new Aloha Stadium development, according to officials with the project.

“We’re energized by reaching the RFP stage of the NASED Real Estate Project,” Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting and General Services, said in a statement. “Even though the pandemic caused delays, we stayed committed to fine-tuning the Real Estate RFP, so it aligns with the feedback we received from key stakeholders and members of the community. Now, we’re ready to move forward with this important milestone and identify our project development partners.”

A specially selected committee will decide which teams are qualified to advance to the second phase.

NASED Project Director David Harris said during the news conference that the contract for the real estate project is expected to be finalized in the middle to third-quarter of 2022. Real estate development on the site could begin in late 2022 or early 2023.

Legislation signed by Gov. David Ige earlier this year allocated $170 million in general obligation funds for the NASED project.

The state will accept proposals until 2 p.m. Dec. 3.

For more information, visit the NASED website.

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