Salvation Army hopes to build Kapolei center
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Salvation Army in Hawai'i is proposing to build and operate a family support, education and recreation facility on a 10-acre parcel of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' East Kapolei I development.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," Maj. David Hudson, commander of The Salvation Army's Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division, said of Hawai'i's chances of receiving funding for the project. Plans call for 50 community centers to be built nationwide with a $1.5 billion gift from the late Joan B. Kroc, wife of McDonald's Corp. founder Ray Kroc.
The Salvation Army in Hawai'i will learn if its proposal has passed the first stage around mid-2006, Hudson said. The second stage will involve site planning and developing a master plan. If all goes well, construction could begin in late 2007 with a planned 2009 opening.
There's strong community support for a Kroc Center in Kapolei.
"This is an opportunity to bridge communities together, to bring about a sense of community," said Micah Kane, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands chairman. "The Kroc Center is a perfect example of bridging the 'Ewa and Kapolei communities with the Native Hawaiian community. This is a great opportunity for DHHL to provide a gathering place for all.
"As a gathering place, a Kroc Center would provide opportunities to share cultures and enrich all our lives," Kane said. "We are so proud to be a part of this effort."
DHHL has offered The Salvation Army a 65-year lease at $10 per year for the Kroc Center site, Kane said.
The Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division plans to submit a proposal requesting $30 million for construction costs and a matching grant of $30 million for an endowment to operate a Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center at the intersection of the new North/South Road and Kapolei Parkway extension. The $60 million grant would be the largest ever awarded to a nonprofit in Hawai'i, according to Kelvin Taketa, president/CEO of Hawai'i Community Foundation.
The Kroc Center in Kapolei would provide employment, educational, recreational and social opportunities for an underserved area with a high percentage of low-income families, fulfilling one of the major criteria set by Mrs. Kroc in her will.
The money bequeathed to The Salvation Army can be used only to build and operate community centers and not for other programs. The Salvation Army is divided into four territories in the United States and each territory received an equal share of the gift — $375 million — to build Kroc Centers. Hawai'i is among 20 to 25 cities vying for grant money in the western territory.
Location and "significant interest of other partners" are among the strengths of the Hawai'i proposal, Hudson said.
"It is critical that we take advantage of every possible partnership to bring needed resources and services to the state of Hawai'i," Kane said. "... The ability for us to attract the Kroc Center to our property reflects the benefits of the philosophical shift (DHHL) has made from being a pocket developer to a master planned community developer. It shows our work can target our beneficiaries, yet have a tremendous benefit to surrounding communities as well."
The Kroc Center site would be adjacent to a $12 million DHHL building. The DHHL offices are expected to be built on nine or 10 acres by 2007. It will also be near the University of Hawai'i's West O'ahu campus.
The project also has the support of the Hawai'i Business Roundtable, which is made up of CEOs of the 50 largest companies in Hawai'i, said Don Horner, president and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, who is chairman of the roundtable and a member of The Salvation Army's East Kapolei Kroc Center steering committee. The steering committee is headed by Phil Russell, managing principal of GMR LLC, Hawai'i Real Estate Services.
"I'm personally and ever-passionately committed to the project for a couple of reasons," Horner said. "First, the project is certainly needed on the Leeward Coast and secondly, it's a great opportunity for various stakeholders to come together in a positive way."
That includes state government administrators, legislators, the mayor as well as DHHL working with Kamehameha Schools and other Hawaiian agencies, and the Leeward Coast communities, said Horner. "If it happens," Horner said, "it will show that the cooperation of government, business and community leaders working together can lead to tremendous things for Hawai'i."
Tesha Malama and Maeda Timson, who head the 'Ewa and Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale neighborhood boards, respectively, said their boards approved the project.
Components of the East Kapolei Kroc Center include a social service center (food pantry, rent and utility assistance, life skills training, extensive referral program and case management), separate affordable children's day care and senior day facilities, a creative learning center (computer labs, tutoring classes, charter school facilities and virtual library), outdoor recreation, a family enhancement center, indoor recreation (gymnasium, aquatic center, fitness center, ropes courses and multipurpose area), and a performing arts center for theatre, dance and music.
Program scholarships will be established through endowments for families who could not otherwise afford to participate, a key feature for 'Ewa Neighborhood Board chairwoman Malama.
The Salvation Army estimates the operating cost for the facility will be $3 million annually. Seventy-five percent of that will come from revenue generated by the $30 million endowment. The remaining 25 percent will have to come from fees and fund raising.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
