Aria Lane bought the 11.12-acre campus of the former Saint Francis School in February 2024 in a transaction approved by the Vatican. There were no requirements for preservation by the Catholic church attached to the sale. The school closed in 2019, and the property was listed for sale and remained on the market for years. The 2024 sale to Avalon provided for the retirement and lifetime care of the Franciscan nuns. 

In May, 2024, Avalon introduced its plan to contribute new homes that fit the character of Mānoa Valley for local buyers. Throughout that month and well into the summer, Avalon Group diligently solicited and processed input from the neighbors of the project site. Avalon:

• Held community meetings on May 8, 15, 16, and 18 at Mānoa Elementary School,
• Created www.arialanemanoa.com to provide information about the project and the project team,
• Presented to the Mānoa Neighborhood Board in May and June, 
• Received feedback via [email protected],
• Mailed more than 4,500 notices to area residents to keep them apprised of upcoming meetings,
• Visited neighbors door-to-door, and
• Conducted 1:1 sessions with residents of Pamoa Road and Hipawai Place.

As a result, Avalon has made multiple adjustments to its original plan and engaged well-regarded architectural, archaeological and cultural consultants to further explore the project and to address any unanticipated discoveries in accordance with State laws and requirements.

• Avalon has reduced the number of total units. The redesigned project envisions 79 single-family homes and 14 multi-family townhome units. No structure in Aria Lane is taller than two stories. 
• More than half of the multi-family units will be available as affordable housing for first-time homebuyers. The affordable housing homes will be regulated by the City. The estimated price range for affordable and market units is projected to be $500,000 to $800,000. 
• Avalon plans to provide an option to convert one of the ensuite ground floor bedrooms in each single-family home into an in-law suite with its own kitchenette, roll-in showers with grab bars, and a separate entrance. This will allow local families to support kupuna aging in place while maintaining their independence. This arrangement also allows two generations to combine finances in order achieve home ownership. 

• To allay neighbors’ fear of overcrowded street parking, Aria Lane was redesigned to accommodate all anticipated residential and visitor parking within the development. Each single-family home will be able to accommodate four cars, and the multi-family units will have 2 stalls per home. Additionally, there will be a total of 33 guest stalls, and 3 loading stalls for mail and recreational park use. 
• This is far in excess of the minimum of 119 stalls required by the City. 

• Traffic engineer, Wilson Okamoto Corporation, analyzed the traffic impact of 140 residential units. At the request of neighbors, Avalon commissioned a second Traffic Impact Report to assess the impact of 172 units (assuming each of the single-family homeowners opted for the in-law suite conversion). The report focused on three intersections: Pamoa Rd/Alaula Way, Pamoa Rd/Kolowalu St and Kolowalu St/E. Mānoa Rd. Both studies concluded that the Aria Lane project would not increase the existing traffic generated by the activity currently on site. 
• At the time of its closure in 2018, Saint Francis School had 452 enrolled students and employed 68 faculty and staff, many of whom commuted from outside of Mānoa. Other uses also included a 200-seat gym and a swim school. 
• Currently, 1,377 students/clients and 127 staff members regularly enter and exit the site to utilize the gym, swimming pools, and other uses. 

• An angled driveway connecting Aria Lane to UH Mānoa’s East Campus will be reoriented as a perpendicular driveway to the primary looping access road. This will allow access by emergency vehicles as well as emergency evacuation of area residents. There are also two existing emergency access points on Pamoa Road. 

• Avalon has redesigned Aria Lane to protect and preserve remnants of rock walls and other features located within and on the slope of Mānoa stream. 
• An Archaeological Literature Review and Field Inspection (LRFI) was prepared in 2019 by Honua Consulting at the request of the Sisters of Saint Francis and provided to Avalon prior to the purchase of the property.
• The LRFI found the development and grading activities in the main grounds of the school likely destroyed or displaced any potential pre-contact and/or early-historic deposits that may have been present. However, significant surface architecture was still present on the perimeters of the property (historic boundary walls and features along the slope to the stream).
• The property bordering Mānoa Stream will be protected in perpetuity. The preservation plan memorializing the preserve boundaries for that area will be drafted following completion of an Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS).
• The segments of the historic rock walls that border the property will have protective physical barriers, such as a wall and/or fencing, to preserve the historic features and to isolate and protect the rock wall remnants.
• There is limited and conflicting evidence of a heiau once existing on the property, and no known evidence of a burial, or burials. Nonetheless, Avalon is committed to following best practices for development in areas of potentially significant sites. 
• Avalon has proactively retained Cultural Surveys Hawai‘i, Inc. (CSH) to develop an AIS subsurface testing strategy, in preparation for the full AIS.
• The testing strategy will be reviewed by SHPD as well as descendants and stakeholders.

• A Reconnaissance Level Survey conducted by well-known historical architecture firm Mason Architects Inc. identified one significant structure on the property.
• Building 100, built as a classroom, principal and secretary’s office, library, and parlor building was constructed between 1955-1958, and is significant for its distinctive architecture (Criterion "c"). 
• Due to significant disrepair, Avalon will not be able to adapt and reuse Building 100 as planned. Since the building cannot be retain, Mason Architects is consulting with SHPD on the best approach to mitigation, including development of historical interpretive signage panels to honor the history of the land, the convent, and its architecture. 

• Arborist Steve Nimz has confirmed that none of the trees at the project site were identified as “exceptional trees” under the revised ordinances of the City and County of Honolulu. 
• Nimz suggested eight trees to be preserved in place. However, these cannot remain in place due to site grading and retaining walls required for the project. 
• Hui Manu-o-Kū has conducted a field survey of the on-site trees, finding no evidence of any nesting sites. Avalon has asked Hui Manu-o-Kū to conduct another survey of the trees prior to any tree removal or relocation.