Kalihi YMCA project advances

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

The YMCA is moving forward with plans to build a $4.5 million facility to replace its aging Kalihi Street building and expects to break ground on the project by the end of next year.

This illustration shows what the YMCA in Kalihi should look like when it's completed. The YMCA expects the project to break ground next year. Artist rendering via YMCA

New or greatly improved YMCAs are planned in Wai'anae, Waipahu and Kailua. The 51-year-old Central Branch will get a major renovation and the Atherton and Mililani branches will have Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility work done, Anderson said.

The 5,000-square-foot Kalihi YMCA, built in 1946, will be torn down and replaced by a four-story, 16,000-square-foot building with enough room to serve more youths and hold programs for pre-teens and teens simultaneously instead of different times because of space limitations.

The Kalihi YMCA serves between 4,000 and 5,000 young people a year, Anderson said.

The new building will include a youth lounge and fitness room, study rooms, children's areas and offices and administration space.

"Kalihi is a youth-serving facility rather than adult service and very centered on pre-teen and teens that get around on bikes and walking," Anderson said. "We are also close to schools. That Y has a real rich history of serving the young people of the community."

The new building, between Bishop Museum and Kalihi-Palama Public Library, will be able to accommodate community gatherings and staff meetings.

The Kalihi YMCA is the home office for about 40 substance abuse and outreach workers who will be moved into portable buildings during construction. The teen center will also be moved to a nearby portable building. Other youth programs will use area schools and parks during the 10-month construction period.

All teen programs run by the YMCA are free, but there is a $5 fee for children's summer programs.

The group is asking for a variance to have fewer than the required 82 parking spaces for a building of this size because more of the youths either walk to the facility or are dropped off by their parents, Anderson said. The YMCA has 24 spaces, and 52 stalls are planned for the new facility.

"We are doubling the amount of parking and we don't even need what we have," Anderson said. "Both Kalihi neighborhood boards supporting the request."

Ken Harding, a Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board member, said the parking variance was carefully explained and the board unanimously approved the request. The board is happy to see the group investing in the community, he said.

"They have had not only a continuing impact but a historic impact," Harding said. "They really build leadership and meet the needs of our young people."

Money is coming from several sources, including the state, which has pitched in $1 million for the Kalihi center and $3 million overall; $500,000 in federal Economic Development Initiative money; $1.1 million in city money for the Leeward project; and $1.5 million that has been raised through donations by YMCA board members and staff.

Because federal money is involved, an environmental assessment must be completed for the Kalihi project. That report is nearly completed, Anderson said.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.