Big Island campus offered space
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — A North Kona development that could jump-start a long-awaited University of Hawai'i campus on the Big Island will begin seeking land-use approvals this year.
Hiluhilu Development wants to build a "university village center," with buildings that could be used as classrooms, office space or housing for the West Hawai'i campus, said Guido Giacometti, a consultant for the developer.
Hiluhilu is a partnership of Guy Lam of Keauhou Kona Construction Corp. and Charles Schwab, founder of the largest discount brokerage in the nation.
The development is proposed for 725 acres of vacant land next to the future site of the University of Hawai'i Center, West Hawai'i.
No state money is available for the campus, which means the private project may open before the university complex is built. If that happens, UH might lease space from the Hiluhilu owners and operate from there until the university develops its own 500-acre site on adjoining land.
"We think that we can help them get started early, with perhaps some facilities that later could be converted to other things like commercial space," Giacometti said.
The university offers classes and other services to about 425 West Hawai'i students in about 12,500 square feet of rented space scattered throughout a Kealakekua shopping center, said Sam Callejo, director of capital improvements for the university.
While the state has no formal agreement with Hiluhilu, Callejo said university officials had given the developer enrollment projections and general information about the kind of space the campus would need and the rent the university pays, Callejo said.
A UH campus in West Hawai'i has been debated and planned for 20 years. In 1991, the Board of Regents selected a site between the 400- and 600-foot level of Hualalai, about a mile upslope of Kona International Airport.
Callejo said $13.9 million was set aside for the new campus in the proposed two-year budget drafted by the last administration, but Gov. Linda Lingle opposed the appropriation.
The Hiluhilu project on the adjoining property would include single-family homes and a golf course as well as the university village, Giacometti said.
He said it was too early to say how many units would be built or how much the development would cost. The developer plans to submit an application to the state Land Use Commission this year to reclassify the agricultural and conservation land to allow for urban development.
The developer is preparing an environmental impact statement for the project, and hopes to begin construction shortly after it has obtained the necessary approvals, likely in two to three years, he said.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
