Honolulu Waldorf School will open its doors to its new high school campus today, ending years of searching for a site, which included a drawn out legal battle with Niu Valley residents.

The high school, which serves about 80 students, was moved over the summer from a renovated house in Kahala to the old Trans Pacific College building on Kalaniana'ole Highway. The school acquired the remaining 30 years on the lease of the building after the college closed in December.

"When we heard the Trans Pacific College was planning to close, the president of the school was so receptive and helpful. Things fell into place," said Bonnie Ozaki-James, chairwoman of the Honolulu Waldorf School's lower school.

She said that the school had been looking for an alternative site for its high school ever since it opened in 1994. Originally, the school rented two classrooms from the Japan America Institute of Management Science in Hawai'i Kai for two years. Then the school moved to a remodeled house in Kahala.

"It was zoned for 100 students, but it could barely hold 80," Ozaki-James said. "We were quite limited in our enrollment, and really crowded."

The school's new building on Kalaniana'ole Highway is a more ideal location for the high school, near the lower-grades campus in Niu Valley, she said. It's also much larger — 22,000 square feet compared to 8,000 square feet at the previous location. There's now enough space for a dedicated music room, two science labs, wood- and metalwork rooms, and study areas.

"The rooms are magnificent," Ozaki-James said. "This is going to allow us to do the kinds of programs we always wanted to but couldn't."

Waldorf had originally planned to build a two-story, 10,000-square-foot high school building on its Niu Valley campus. When its conditional use permit was approved in January 2007, some Niu Valley residents petitioned the Zoning Board of Appeals. The school then filed a lawsuit against the city and the residents, asking a judge to deny the residents' appeal. Ozaki-James said that the school dropped its plans for a new building and reached an amicable agreement with the neighbors in Niu Valley.

The school is looking to raise at least $1 million to support capital improvements and safety renovations at the new building.