The effort to create a community-based master plan for 31.5 acres of mostly vacant state property next to Kewalo Basin in Kaka'ako will take another important step tomorrow, introducing a design consultant to the planning process.

Representatives of design firm MVE will be at a meeting tomorrow with a community advisory council and the Hawai'i Community Development Authority.

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. at HCDA's offices at 677 Ala Moana.

The agency earlier this year approved spending $600,000 to create a master plan for the land three years after the cancellation of an ambitious yet controversial plan from Alexander & Baldwin Inc. to redevelop much of the Kaka'ako peninsula with a mix of high-rise condominiums, retail and public attractions.

MVE is an experienced design firm based in California with a Honolulu office. The firm has been involved in a variety of Hawai'i projects, including an affordable housing community on the Big Island and the planned affordable high-rise tower Halekauwila Place in Kaka'ako. The firm also was involved in design work for a Kaka'ako Peninsula plan by local developer Stanford Carr that was third runner-up to the A&B plan selected by HCDA.

Ron Iwami, chairman of the 50-member Kaka'ako Makai Community Planning Advisory Council, said the group needs more residents to help shape the new master plan for the site that now prohibits housing.

The council has produced a set of guiding principles that include expanding the area's shoreline parks, preserving open view planes, providing a shoreline promenade and including cultural facilities such as museums and a community center.

Some restaurants, cafes and small shops are also part of the group's vision to complement public facilities.

Actual conceptual design features will be a product of work between the HCDA, the public and the design consultant.

Planning meetings with the council are held on the first Tuesday of each month. A series of planning workshops are also slated for Jan. 29 to 31. A final master plan is anticipated to be finished in June 2010.

More information can be found at http://www.hcdaweb.org.