Kapolei likely site
for $30M center

An endowment will nearly cover
the cost of the Salvation Army
community facility

The Salvation Army is moving forward on plans to build a $30 million community center on 10 acres in Kapolei, which will feature day care, a swimming pool, a theater and after-school programs.

Community invited to hear plans BJ Dorman, division development director for the Salvation Army in Hawaii, will speak about plans for the community center on Wednesday at the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Kapolei High School cafeteria, 91-5007 Kapolei Parkway.

Funding for the center would come from a $1.5 billion endowment to the Salvation Army from Joan B. Kroc, late wife of McDonald's restaurant chain founder Ray Kroc.

The money hasn't been secured yet, but "we're very, very confident," said BJ Dorman, development director for the Salvation Army in the islands.

"We've been told that we have an absolutely incredible proposal," Dorman added. "It's not a slam-dunk but it's pretty close."

About 75 percent of the funding for the center's long-term operating costs -- which Hawaii officials are still trying to tally -- also would come from the endowment.

Salvation Army officials in the islands expect to start raising money soon for the remaining costs of maintaining the facility, Dorman said.

She also said that part of the application process for building the facility is "being able to show the sustainability" of the center. "We will definitely make certain ... that it will be able to continue," Dorman said.

The Kroc endowment, announced in January 2004, is earmarked specifically for the construction of as many as 30 community centers across the nation. Half the endowment must be used to build the centers, while the other half must collect interest and help support the centers' operation.

Since early this year, Dorman has been visiting with Leeward Oahu community organizations to present the Kapolei plan, and she is scheduled to speak at the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board on Wednesday night.

So far, community reaction to the facility has been positive, said board Chairwoman Maeda Timson. "We are so excited of the possibility that it's coming out to Kapolei," she said.

"It's going to really serve such a large underserved group of youth. ... This is the fastest-growing community, especially with young children."

The Salvation Army is negotiating with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for a site in Kapolei for the facility, but Dorman declined to say how much it is expected to cost.

She said the center -- aimed at reaching low-income families from Ewa to Waianae -- will likely be situated near the intersection of Kapolei Parkway and the North-South Road under construction.

"What the center's going to provide is this gathering place," Timson said, "linking the little communities."

Construction of the facility could start within two years, and is expected to be complete as early as 2009.

Funding for the center could be secured as early as December. But it will take at least six months to draft plans.

The new center will mean the closure of the Salvation Army's small Aiea facility, whose child day care serves 60, Dorman said. Salvation Army centers in Kaneohe and Honolulu will not be affected.

"It's just a matter of shifting and pushing things," Dorman said. "This particular area seems so ideal."

The Kapolei center is modeled after a $90 million facility in San Diego that opened in 2002 and also was funded by the Kroc family, though not through Joan B. Kroc's endowment. That facility has about 300 employees and more than 6,000 members.

It is still too early to say how many the Kapolei facility could employ, Dorman said.

She said the facility is being designed to reflect the community, and after-school programs will likely include hula or ukulele classes.

There are also plans to include a gymnasium and arts programs.