Kailua Town, a Census designated place on the island of Oahu and where President Obama likes to spend a portion of his winters, has announced that they are not only home to the “most beautiful parking garage” but that same parking garage is now the most energy-efficient in the state.

Sadly, the Kailua Town Center Parking Garage built in 2004 is not competing against the reigning champ of last year’s Battle of the Buildings hosted by the EPA: the University of Central Florida’s Parking Garage C because neither of their owners have entered them in this year’s competition.

"We built the garage with future growth in mind.  It is a three level concrete structure with 434 parking stalls," said Miles Nishijima the Assistant Vice President-Asset Management of Kaneohe Ranch Management Ltd the company who manages real estate in Kailua, "and we made sure that it was constructed to the highest standards.  Because of our relationship to the Harold Castle Foundation and the Kaneohe Ranch Cultural Center, we included art and sculpture in the design of the parking garage.  That's why I call it Hawaii's 'most beautiful' parking garage."

At the end of 2011 a complete lighting retrofit with LED fixtures from EvoLucia Aimed Optics began at the garage because the existing lighting was inefficient and costly with parts needing replacement every two to three years.  The project was completed at the beginning of this year in April but was not without challenges.

The lights used on the rooftop of the structure had to be selected carefully because the garage is located near the federally protected Hamakua wetlands part of the Kawainui Marsh and light pollution could affect bird migration patterns. The EvoLucia product line is Dark Sky™ certified by the International Dark Sky Association so the chosen lights were approved for the rooftop.

Since the lights have been operating the facility's total electricity consumption, including traditional and LED lights, has dropped over 42%. "We are saving about $1500/month in energy costs and we are projecting that our maintenance bill should drop by $15,000 annually based on the EvoLucia products' nearly 100,000 hour life,"  Nishijima added.

The upgrades were well worth it to the community and tourists who visit because the parking garage is a multi-purpose building.  The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation hosts a weekly farmers market on site and it serves as a concert venue every month for a Kanikapila that features local musicians.

Hawaii: come for the beaches but stay for their parking garage.