VITA Shapes Places for Luxury Projects in Urban Locales

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global design firm VITA, whose expertise in land planning and real estate strategy, community, hospitality design and landscape architecture has helped clients sell more than $20 billion of residential real-estate products, recently completed two distinctive projects. These include Victoria Place at Ward Village® and Victoria Ward Park Makai, located in the heart of Honolulu, Hawaii for Howard Hughes, and Replay Destinations' new Mill District in Northern California.

"Capturing the emotional gravity of a setting to give luxury brands their competitive edge is what we do best," states VITA founder, Don Vita. "We always start with the place—understanding its complexity, researching the site, its vitality, and the way people have shaped it over time, then overlaying something expressive that is rooted in the truths of the place. Because you can always build a nicer room or upgrade a pool—but you can't recreate the vibrancy of a place."

VITA's concept for Victoria Place at Ward Village® was inspired by Honolulu's kama'aina (or "local activity" in Hawaiian) clubs, and the area's luxurious estates. The 7th tower in the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), Platinum-certified, masterplanned 60-acre community—and Ward Village's most successful residential project to date with sales exceeding $6 billion—Victoria Place is a 40-story building with 350 units. It features a lush courtyard garden adjacent to the building's lobby, a ground-level private lanai pool house, and a 5th floor amenities-rich deck incorporating pools, spas, dining facilities, and a wine cave. The community features several event lawns with one overlooking the makai (or "seaward") view of the VITA-designed Victoria Ward Park. This public green space is the community's first SITES-certified park.

"At Ward Village, VITA has played an essential role in bringing our vision for a vibrant, connected neighborhood to life. Their thoughtful design of parks, open spaces, and streetscapes helps weave together residential, retail, and public areas through natural settings that enhance wellness, connectivity, and placemaking. These efforts create meaningful places for the community to come together and enjoy their surroundings for generations to come," states Doug Johnstone, President, Hawaiʻi Region & National Condominium Development at Howard Hughes.

Sitting at the gateway to downtown Healdsburg in Northern California's Alexander Valley wine region, Mill District is a 10-acre, $500 million mixed-use development by Replay Destinations. VITA led a multi-year planning process in collaboration with the community and City to create a vision-forward district that offers a diverse range of housing, addresses affordability, enhances walkability, and integrates recreation opportunities—all adjacent to a future Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) station. The plan prioritizes a high-quality public realm, anchored by a central open space that preserves heritage redwood trees and is surrounded by a thoughtfully designed network of streetscapes. Buildings include a 53-key hotel, 10,000 square feet of commercial space, 41 community housing units by Pyatok Architects, and more than 160 for-sale units, including 43 luxury residences by Olson Kundig Architects. Through thoughtful coordination of multiple design teams and careful navigation of regulatory requirements, VITA played a unifying role in delivering a vibrant, enduring neighborhood shaped by both context and vision.

"What great master planning and design does is stir emotion," observes Greg Ashley, Chief Strategy Officer at Replay Destinations. He notes that when it comes to destinations people visit or consider buying property in, logic is only part of the equation—people make decisions based on how a place makes them feel.

A town square anchors Healdsburg's downtown core; tree canopies and fountains soften what is a more formal place to gather. At nearby Mill District, VITA developed a more natural and organic plan that incorporates a preserved grove of redwood trees and native plants around which the community is built. "Mill District appears to emerge more naturally from the landscape, creating engagement and the perfect stage for great architecture," Ashley notes. "Since Don also lives in the area, the planning of Mill District was done through the eyes of a local, which of course brings the highest level of thought and passion."

Former VITA client and current Managing Principal Lisa Baker knows firsthand VITA's value to real estate developers and their investments. She states, "VITA's approach is founded on a layered process that we describe as 'place shaping.' We honor the past, contextualize the present and shape the future in a meaningful way that enables smart growth and sustainable return on investment."

Media Contact:
Lisa Boquiren
213.935.0021
[email protected]

SOURCE VITA Planning & Landscape Architecture