Kailua-Kona is one step closer to getting an emergency shelter.
Hawaii County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday advanced to full council a resolution that will ultimately help fund the Kukuiola emergency shelter in West Hawaii.
Resolution 201-23 authorizes the mayor to receive $10 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support the planning, design and construction cost of the project.
The money was part of the $240 million secured by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) for the state in the 2022 appropriations bill.
In 2020, the council accepted $4 million from the Hawaii Housing Finance &Development Corp. to build a road accessing the project. The county allocated $2 million for grading of the site. The predevelopment and initial grading road construction were covered from Ohana Zones funding through the state and county CIP funding.
After a January groundbreaking, work is currently being performed at the site for grading and the building of the access road. The road and grading is expected to be complete by early 2025.
Vertical construction is anticipated to commence in the spring of 2024 and is estimated to take 12 to 16 months to complete. The county expects the project to be complete by summer 2025.
Sharon Hirota from the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development said the money is solely for the vertical construction, not for the operations or management of the project.
“Kukuiola is located off of Kealakehe Parkway across from the West Hawaii Civics Center. At full buildout the emergency shelter and assessment center will comprise of 16 emergency shelters, and 48 affordable permanent housing units, with support services,” Hirota told the committee.
Hirota also disclosed the plan to build overnight parking at the site for those unsheltered individuals living in their vehicles.
“We are also looking at up to 46 safe overnight parking stalls,” she said.
The first phase of the project includes the 16 emergency shelter units, an approximately 2,000 square foot assessment center, shared community restroom and shower facilities for those who participate in the safe parking, as well as separate facilities for those at the emergency shelters. It will also include a 1,400 square foot community center and shared kitchen space, office space for case management services and other resources to be delivered on site. A manager’s unit will also be constructed and there will be open space for community building activities.
The full buildout will encompass a little over 17 acres. The first phase, which includes the emergency shelters overnight parking restrooms and community center kitchen and office, will have about a six acre footprint.