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 Kamehameha Schools is poised to break ground soon, despite the bad economy. In March, The Pacific Resource Partnership invited two Kamehameha Schools trustees, Corbett Kalama and Micah Kane, and Chief Executive Officer Dee Jay Mailer to share more on the Schools’ upcoming projects, their challenges, and the reason Kamehameha is able to move forward when most others are standing still.
What are some of the upcoming projects that Kamehameha Schools is planning?
C. Kalama: We have two major construction projects on the horizon – strategic redevelopment of our Kapalama campus and our 29-acre master-planned community in Kakaako.
Are any of those projects shovel-ready?
M. Kane: The Kapalama campus redevelopment project is ready to go. In January, we invited five local construction companies to bid on the project, and as we’re having this conversation, we’re awaiting the result of the bidding. We had deferred this project last year as the global economic crisis unfolded. However, the middle school in particular is in need of upgrading, and we expect to benefit from robust competitive bidding in this economic environment. As soon as the school year wraps up and county permits are secured, we’ll be able to start demolition of the middle school.
Can you go into more detail about the Kapalama campus project?
D. Mailer: Kamehameha Schools’ Kapalama campus was founded in the 1930s, which means some of the buildings are more than 75 years old. Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama has about 1.7 million square feet, with 68 major buildings to serve our K-12 enrollment of approximately 3,200 children. In addition, with our focus on revitalizing our understanding and practice of our culture, we have planned a cultural piko on campus and are also making room for more parking, which is greatly needed to accommodate all of the activities we host today.
C. Kalama: It makes sense economically to take a broad look at construction needs on our Kapalama campus and coordinate the work as a single, large project. The strategic redevelopment of the Kapalama campus includes four major phases: the demolition and redevelopment of the middle school campus; the demolition and redevelopment of an athletics complex; construction of a new, three-story parking structure; and new construction of the Kaiwakiloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center, with the middle school renovation occurring first.
What is your timeline for completing the campus redevelopment?
D. Mailer: We hope to be substantially completed with the middle school construction by spring 2012 and ready to welcome students to the new campus facilities by the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Scheduling the remaining projects will depend upon construction synergies we hope to learn from the bidding process.
What are Kamehameha Schools’ plans in Kakaako?
D. Mailer: Kamehameha Schools has 29 acres mauka of Ala Moana Boulevard in Kakaako that we are planning to redevelop – about 8 ½ blocks between South, Cooke and Halekauwila streets and Ala Moana Boulevard. Our Master Plan was approved in September 2009 and our Master Plan Development Agreement was entered into the following month. We call our development Kaiaulu o Kakaako. (Community of Kakaako). We are extremely excited about the vision for this area. We see our mauka community as a place that supports the innovation technologies industry developing on the makai side of Ala Moana with the medical school and the University’s Cancer Research Center and with the Asia Pacific Innovation Center we hope to build someday. Our community will have retail that serves the neighborhood and a range of housing – from units reserved for “gap group” incomes and rental housing for young people just starting out, to higher-priced housing for those who are more established in their careers.
M. Kane: It’s exciting to picture Hawaii’s young people working here at home with living and high-wage jobs and a wonderful place to live right across the street.
We also hope Kaiaulu o Kakaako can serve as a model for redevelopment by integrating retail and residential uses, incorporating open space and landscaped public walkways and using green technology and construction whenever possible. The community is pedestrian-focused because we believe so many of the residents will work nearby or use the transit system that is planned for that area. One of the reasons for a Master Plan is so we can design open space and other public amenities that fit the entire community, even though Kaiaulu o Kakaako will take about 25 years to completely build out. Without a Master Plan, we’d have to develop block-by-block, and each block would have to sustain itself financially.
The idea here is to create a community where kamaaina can truly live, work and play.
What kind of workforce will be needed to construct Kaiaulu o Kakaako?
C. Kalama: Our staff calculated that, and it’s part of our Master Plan application. At full build-out, we expect to create approximately 9,300 on-site construction jobs and 10,200 off-site jobs. The total construction and off-site worker payroll for the 15-year development period is estimated to be approximately $933 million. It will take the kind of highly qualified and ready workforce the unions provide to build-out a plan of this size.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen other projects come to a halt because of the discovery of ancient remains. What is Kamehameha Schools doing to best protect that from happening with Kaiaulu o Kakaako?
C. Kalama: As an alii trust, we have kuleana to ensure the proper protection and treatment of Hawaiian cultural resources. In Kakaako, Kamehameha has taken a rigorous approach to identifying possible historic properties and potential burial sites. We’ve conducted an enthno-historical study on the Master Plan area, geo-referencing of historic maps and strategic subsurface archaeological testing. This approach has also included early consultation with known cultural and lineal descendants, the State Historic Preservation Division, the Oahu Island Burial Council and other Hawaiian organizations.
This kind of early consultation should help to prevent prolonged work stoppages by helping us reach consensus and identify proper protocol if any cultural resources are encountered during both planning and construction for Kaiaulu o Kakaako.
What is Kamehameha’s commitment to the local construction industry for its projects?
M. Kane: We invited five local firms to bid on our Kapalama campus redevelopment project. They are Albert C. Kobayashi, Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Kiewit Building Group, Nordic/PCL Construction, and Swinerton Builders. We were able to do this because we are overseeing the Kapalama campus project ourselves. Kakaako is a little different because we would engage one or more developer(s) to build Kaiaulu o Kakaako. However, we are exploring ways to ensure that highly qualified, local labor is used. Through Walter Thoemmes, our director of facilities development and support, we are discussing a developer labor agreement for Kakaako. We believe this is the right thing to do for Kakaako, for our local economy and for your members.
In my former position as director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, I helped to negotiate a project labor agreement with The Pacific Resource Partnership and the Hawaii Carpenters Union. I’ve seen how these agreements can be a win-win situation for both parties.
Isn’t it risky to undertake a large-scale development like Kaiaulu o Kakaako during a bad economy? How can Kamehameha afford to move forward?
C. Kalama: It is risky, but we believe in our vision for Kakaako, and we believe that redeveloping it is in the best interests of not only the Kakaako community, but also the students and communities we serve. Kamehameha Schools owns about 365,000 acres of land statewide. Of that, 1,500 acres – one percent – generates 96 percent of all real estate income. That income is used to fund our educational mission. Last year, Kamehameha spent $258 million on education, which included $83 million in community-focused programs. To sustain that amount of spending in perpetuity as Princess Pauahi envisioned, we need to use a long-term strategy for optimizing the value of our commercial properties. Redeveloping our Kakaako lands will allow us to generate more income in the future and thus, allow us to continue to educate thousands of learners each year. The kuleana of our educational mission drives everything we do at Kamehameha Schools.
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