Dobelle unveils plans for UH biotech park
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
In a light rain and under cloudy skies, state leaders gave a "before" look at Kaka'ako makai, the 200 acres of harbor-front land that represent the crown jewel of public property in urban Honolulu.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
In three years, they said, a biotechnology park on the now-empty land will hold a new medical school, the Cancer Research Center and the Pacific Biomedical Research Center.
Senate President Robert Bunda, Gov. Ben Cayetano and UH President Evan Dobelle talked at the news conference.
UH officials hope to break ground within six months, but say construction will begin definitely within a year.
"Now we have the kind of vision, the kind of new initiative it will take to make the University of Hawai'i great in the Pacific," said Gov. Ben Cayetano.
As the Legislature wraps up its special session, the bills transmitted to Cayetano include measures that would authorize the University of Hawai'i to borrow $150 million for a new medical school and research facility in Kaka'ako. That money will be repaid with 28 percent of the proceeds from the state settlement with tobacco companies.
"I can't imagine a better use of these kinds of funds," said UH President Evan Dobelle. He said there were 16 other states that have used tobacco settlement money for cancer research.
UH will have to match the state's $150 million with private donations. Dobelle left for Los Angeles yesterday afternoon to solicit donations. He said UH will have to tap a variety of sources, from alumni to private and philanthropic foundations.
The medical school has been in its Manoa building since the 1970s, and school officials say they need a more modern space for research. After the new medical school is opened, the old building will be renovated for lab use by UH scientists.
University officials spent the summer debating the advisability of putting a biotechnology park in already crowded downtown Honolulu. They considered other locations on the island, but returned to the original Kaka'ako plan advocated by the governor, saying it is close to hospitals and construction can begin quickly because it is state land.
Kamehameha Schools and Victoria Ward Ltd., the two largest private landowners in Kaka'ako, have teamed up to hire a New York urban design firm to craft a joint master plan for redevelopment of their 100-plus acres in the area.
The hope is that the UH facility would serve as the anchor for a biotech park bordered by Ala Moana, Fort Armstrong, Kaka'ako Waterfront Park and Kewalo Basin.
Dobelle said the new facilities would be a magnet for faculty and graduate students.
Martin Rayner, director of the Pacific Biomedical Research Center, said he hopes the biotechnology park will offer young people a place to train and stay after they graduate. "We want to create a future here for the people of Hawai'i," he said.
A separate bill would authorize $100 million for repair and maintenance projects at public schools and the university.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
