7 private firms vie
to build UH site

The winning bidder will develop
a new West Oahu campus

The University of Hawaii has announced seven developers who are vying to construct what officials say would be the first public university campus in the country to be built entirely with private funds.

The 100-acre West Oahu campus in Kapolei will be tied to a commercial development that could include shops and housing. As part of the plan, the university is offering the winning bidder development rights to at least 170 adjacent acres that will defray the cost of developing the new campus.

The university put out a request for private developers to start the first phase of the campus on a 500-acre site in Kapolei. The university hopes to have students on the campus for the fall semester in 2008, said Jan Yokota, the university's capital improvements director.

"This is probably the first example of a full campus being built with private funds," Yokota said.

Potential developers include three Hawaii companies or groups, two others based mainly in Texas, one from Maryland and one from Arizona.

The university will use about 100 acres for the campus, Yokota said.

About 170 acres will be offered to develop a university village with commercial and residential buildings, and another 150 acres are being set aside for either campus expansion or further development, she said.

"We may or may not offer part or all of the 150 acres," she said. "We haven't determined that yet."

The university will narrow the list to three to five developers by the end of next week. The finalists will then submit detailed proposals for the campus and the adjoining commercial development by the beginning of April, she said.

The winning bid will be presented to the Board of Regents for approval at their April meeting, Yokota said.

Most of the developers have formed teams with local architectural, construction and financing companies.

Linda Johnsrud, acting chancellor for UH-West Oahu, said all of the applicants appear to have the financial experience and financial means to develop the campus and the adjacent land.

The university is seeking private developers to build the campus because the state does not have the money, Yokota said. The cost of building the first phase, which will have four buildings, and the accompanying infrastructure is estimated to be $100 million, she said.

The seven private developers who have submitted qualifications are:

» Actus Lend Lease/A&B Properties of Honolulu.
» Concord Eastridge of Phoenix.
» Hawaiian Island Homes/PER Inc. and private investors.
» Hughes Development of Dallas.
» Hult ELP of El Paso, Texas, and Honolulu.
» MW Group of Honolulu.
» UniDev of Bethesda, Md.