Board votes for 320-acre UH campus in East Kapolei

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

KAPOLEI — The community Neighborhood Board voted in favor last night of building the planned University of Hawai'i West O'ahu campus at a 320-acre site in East Kapolei.

The site, east of Kapolei Golf Course and bordering Farrington Highway, could be expanded to 500 acres, UH officials said. Preliminary concept designs for the site would have two- to three-story buildings, with ground-level parking. The four-year undergraduate school ultimately would accommodate 6,500 to 7,500 students.

The Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board voted 8-0 in favor of the site after hearing comments from a meeting that drew about 80 residents. The overwhelming majority of those at the meeting were in favor of the East Kapolei site also known as "Kapolei Makai."

UH officials are considering two other possible sites: a 59-acre site next to Kapolei Middle School in the Villages of Kapolei residential subdivision, and a 27-acre location in downtown Kapolei.

UH officials said all three sites are still in the running. Allan Ah San, UH associate vice president for administration said it came through "loud and clear" that the community wants the largest site but that cost was a major factor and that the costs of all three sites were still being considered.

A recommendation will be made to the Board of Regents in September or October.

All three properties are state owned.

The plan is to partially open the new UH campus by 2005 to initially handle about 2,750 students.

University officials added the third and much larger 320-acre Kapolei site after residents became concerned about the narrow list of choices for the UH-West O'ahu campus.

Campbell Estate officials recently have been pushing for the planned University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus to be built in the heart of downtown Kapolei. But residents at last night's hearing and previous community meetings questioned whether either of the smaller Kapolei locations would be adequate for an expanding campus, and worried about the lack of parking.

Board member Jane Ross said the two smaller sites would not accommodate the projected number of students. "Manoa residents suffer every day because of students parking in their community to get to school," she said.

Dave Gilbert, another board member, said that, unlike UH Manoa, the 320-acre site could be expanded. "The UH Manoa site is already landlocked," he said. "It would be ill-advised to limit ourselves from the start."

The 59-acre site off Kapolei Parkway between Kapolei Middle School and 'Ewa Village is on land on which the state initially proposed a sports complex. UH officials said it would probably consist of four- and five-story buildings with parking structures.

The 27-acre "urban" campus would be in the designated civic center section of Kapolei, next to the Kapolei state office tower off Kamokila Boulevard. Parking is limited there as well. Officials said it could consist of five- to 10-story buildings with a four- to five-story parking structure.

Reach Scott Ishikawa at 535-2429 or sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.