4 teams bidding
for UH-West Oahu

The University of Hawaii has selected four development teams to submit proposals for the first phase of a UH-West Oahu campus.

In exchange for building the first phase, the winning team will get the right to develop housing and commercial properties on up to 320 acres of adjacent land in Kapolei near the Kapolei Golf Course.

Proceeds from the commercial development would fund the construction of the UH-West Oahu facility, estimated at about $120 million, including infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity and sewer.

Seven developers submitted information in January to be considered for the project.

The four finalists are Actus Lend Lease LLC, teamed with A & B Properties Inc. of Honolulu; Concord Eastridge Inc. of Phoenix; Hunt ELP Ltd. of El Paso, Texas, and Honolulu; and UniDev LLC of Bethesda, Md.

The developers have formed teams with construction, architectural, financial and other firms from Hawaii and the mainland.

Proposals from the development teams will be evaluated, and one will be recommended to the UH Board of Regents for approval in April.

The current long-range plan for the 500 acres of state land for the project calls for construction of parking and four buildings -- including a library and campus center -- on 30 acres to become the first phase of a permanent UH-West Oahu campus.

The campus would be able to support up to 1,520 students, nearly double the current student population of 800 housed in cramped portables next to Leeward Community College.

It is envisioned that UH-West Oahu could support up to 7,600 students on 96.8 acres, a project that would eventually cost about $350 million.

Around the campus, the university would like to see a University Village shopping center; residential housing that would also serve students, faculty and staff; commercial development; an elementary school; a 14.2-acre park; and expansion of parking for the Kapolei Golf Course, roads and bikeways.