Interim UH site draws disapproval
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Despite their delight over yesterday's approval by the Board of Regents of the 500-acre Kapolei Makai site for a four-year West O'ahu campus, community members are raising concerns about a fast-track, interim 16-acre campus site.
The small acreage in the heart of downtown Kapolei was also approved by the regents as part of West O'ahu, but on a temporary basis.
"That is going to outrage people in the community," said Kioni Dudley, vice chairman of the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board. "We don't want any 10-story campus. We want a university. They're trying to give us a downtown HPU that we're just not buying."
Traffic problems are already a major issue for the community and residents see even an interim campus next to the state building creating even more.
"Now that the marketplace is almost complete I don't know how anybody is going to move in and out of anything," said Jane Ross, a long-time board member. "It will be a major mess as far as traffic is concerned."
Some residents were also worried that students would take up spaces in the state parking lot, but said it might work if classes there were scheduled at night.
Regardless of the negative reaction to the small interim urban site, there was overwhelming support of the large 500-acre parcel next to the Kapolei Golf Course and bounded by Farrington Highway and the Hawaiian Electric pole lines.
Democratic Sen. Cal Kawamoto (Makakilo, Pearl City) was already planning to ask the Legislature for a $200 million appropriation in general obligation bonds to begin construction and on and off-site improvements.
"This is what we want and this is what the community deserves," he said. "Great. We have room to expand. That's tremendous and what we want."
The regents gave final approval to the 500-acre site as the primary, long-term campus, with the idea that the 16 acres would form an interim solution to make sure the West O'ahu campus doesn't lose accreditation. It is now in temporary buildings at Leeward Community College.
According to the university's projections, the Campbell Estate has committed to pay all or part of up to $16.1 million in roadway costs to handle traffic at the 16-acre site. As well, an additional $6.2 million in off-site roadway costs could also be paid either partially or completely by the estate.
Any building put in that area could be sold in the future, or used for programs that fit with the community's needs, said Karl Kim, interim vice chancellor and a member of the site selection committee. Kim said that the 16 acres doesn't need the infrastructure work — mostly water and sewer — that the larger site does, and therefore would be up much more quickly to meet the immediate educational needs of the community.
"It's the best of both worlds," Kim said. "It enables us to do something quickly and also plan for the long-term. It could go up very fast if Campbell Estate took the leadership on it."
While both the site selection committee and the regents have moved swiftly during the summer to get this project started after a quarter of a century of dreaming, there are still hurdles to face, cautioned Paul Costello, UH vice president for External Affairs and University Relations.
"This is a conclusion and a beginning," he said. "It's the first step in bringing this to reality."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
