The proposal to redevelop 60 acres at Ward Centers with as many as 4,000 high-rise residential units, new retail centers and eateries, and public spaces got mixed reviews yesterday from residents, with some questioning whether the area can handle so much growth.

"I think it's going to be too congested," said Jack Hamada, a 15-year resident of Kaka'ako.

Others said the plan fits with future expansion.

"It's just a wonderful plan," said Marshall Mower, a real estate broker who lives in Kaka'ako with his wife, Lila. Mower said the plan integrates walking-friendly retail areas with other destinations to make Kaka'ako "the best neighborhood in the city."

Residents weighed in at an "open house" on the plan, put on by the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, the quasi-state agency that oversees development in Kaka'ako and which is reviewing the plan to redevelop the Ward Centers. In addition to the meeting yesterday, residents can share their thoughts online or at a public hearing planned for later this year.

About 25 people attended the meeting yesterday at the Honolulu Design Center.

The open house was the first public forum on the master plan sponsored by HCDA since the development proposal was presented in February. The plan was developed by Ward Centers owner General Growth Properties, which also held a public meeting in March and has been discussing the proposal with neighborhood boards and other community groups.

The first project in the 20-year master plan is proposed to kick off in 2011, with a pedestrian plaza replacing old warehouses and the Ward Farmers Market. General Growth needs approval from HCDA of its master plan, and the agency could vote on that approval as early as this year. Under HCDA rules, the agency has 200 days to act on the developer's master plan.

Even if the plan is approved, individual projects in the area would need to be approved.

The General Growth master plan is a broad document for the so-called Ward Neighborhood that provides the foundation for the area that now houses Ward Warehouse, Ward Centre and the Ward Entertainment Center.

The plan proposes to replace, over the next two or three decades, everything that exists today on its Kaka'ako property.

The Whole Foods Market, under construction now, would remain.

"This is a very long-range plan," said Jan Yokota, General Growth vice president of development. She said the plan addresses several questions, including: "What do we want to achieve?" and "What should be the characteristics of the area?"

In addition to residential towers, and even townhouses and lofts, retail would have a significant presence in the neighborhood. The plan expects about 400 retail tenants, up from 300 today. The plan also calls for some 9,600 parking spaces for public and private use.

General Growth also said its plan will take into account the city's proposed rail transit line, the first phase of which would be from Kapolei to Ala Moana.

A little more than 6,000 people live in Kaka'ako, and 30,000 are expected to live in the community by 2030, according to HCDA officials, who based the estimates on city figures.

Bob Watson, who has lived in Kaka'ako for 35 years, said he is concerned about how the proposal will affect his view — and traffic. "I like Kaka'ako the way it is," he said yesterday.

Mark Wong, chairman of the Kaka'ako Makai community planning advisory council, which HCDA formed, said he attended the meeting yesterday to see how the plans for the mauka area would fit in with the vision for everything makai of Ala Moana.

"They should be distinct areas, but complementary," he said.

Ron Iwami, president of the Friends of Kewalo Basin Park Association, agreed, saying residential units should stay in Kaka'ako Mauka — and that fits in with the plan. But he also said there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the proposals.