Halawa Valley could become the new home for the Hawaiian Humane Society's pet park, kennel and adoption facility.

The Humane Society was chosen by the Agriculture Department to lease space at the state's Animal Quarantine Station in Halawa.

The board met last week to approve the society's negotiations with the department. The next step will be to agree on how long the lease will be and how much the society will pay for the site.

In its proposal, the Humane Society said the facility would include a lost-and-found center and a public education area, and offer small-scale community events.

Because nearly 90 percent of all pets entering Hawai'i go home directly from the airport under the five-day-or-less rabies quarantine program, six acres of mostly vacant land on the mauka-'ewa end of the quarantine station is available.

The facility has 1,600 kennels, of which about 900 are still usable and in good condition.

The Obedience Training Club of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Dog Foundation also submitted proposals in March, but the Humane Society was selected because it would use all the space and would "serve a large and more diverse section of the community," according to Isaac Maeda, program manager for the Animal Quarantine Branch.

HALAWA, CENTRAL O'AHU

POPULATION: 13,891

MEDIAN AGE: 37.4

CHILDREN: 3,249

65 AND OLDER: 2,192

TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS: 4,142

MARRIED-COUPLE HOUSEHOLDS: 2,488

AVERAGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD: 3.28

AVERAGE FAMILY SIZE: 3.64

HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE: 64.1%

Race: white, 2,153, 15.5%; Asian, 7,070, 50.9%; Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1,449, 10.4%; other, 23.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau