Funding delays dog UH-West Oahu

The Legislature fails to approve $30 million in construction bonds

The University of Hawaii may scale back plans for a new UH-West Oahu campus in Kapolei after the Legislature failed to authorize about $30 million in construction bonds to start work on improvements, officials said.

UH-West Oahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni said cost estimates keep rising as the university plans details of the first four buildings of the campus. The estimate is now about $160 million to $170 million.

When a private-public partnership to build the campus was first proposed last year, the cost estimate was about $100 million.

The university had hoped that the entire cost of infrastructure and the 25-acre first phase of the campus could be covered by a public-private partnership to sell or lease 240 acres for housing and retail development. About 500 acres has been set aside for the campus next to the Kapolei Golf Course.

The university asked the Legislature for about $30 million in construction bonds for roads, water, electricity and sewage pipes and other work when the session began, Awakuni said.

Going into conference committee negotiations last month, the Senate had proposed giving the university $16.7 million for UH-West Oahu construction. The House budget had no bonds for UH-West Oahu, but gave the university authority to spend about $200 million of its own money for the project, lawmakers said.

The final version of the budget passed last week contained no bond funds for UH-West Oahu and no spending authority.

"It's a setback," Awakuni said, adding that the university will likely go back to the Legislature next year to ask for the money. "I was surprised. I can't figure out what happened," he added.

UH-West Oahu is still hoping to start construction on the project next fall and have the campus open by 2009, Awakuni said.

Without the state funds, construction may be delayed, and if the Legislature fails to fund the project next year, the first phase of the campus may end up to be less than the proposed four buildings housing up to 1,520 students.

It's also possible, Awakuni said, that the developer could go ahead with building the infrastructure and then the university would go back to the Legislature in future years to fund the construction of the campus.

State lawmakers who represent the district say they are disappointed that the campus is not in this year's budget.

"This is really the one sore spot where the Legislature was not successful in coming through," said Sen. Brian Kanno (D, Village Park-Makakilo-Kapolei-Waipahu-Waikele).

"Maybe some legislators may not have understood that we still need some state funding to help with the infrastructure cost and to help it happen quickly," Kanno added.

"I'm disappointed. I'm flabbergasted. It's inexplicable and evidently to date it's unexplainable," said Senate Higher Education Chairman Clayton Hee.

Hee (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe) and other lawmakers said the project will help relieve traffic in West Oahu and overcrowding at UH-Manoa.

Awakuni said the university is continuing to negotiate with Hunt ELP Ltd., the private developer selected to build the campus and surrounding housing, on how much the land around the campus is worth and what the university's share of the improvements' costs should be.

He said the university does not want to sell too much land to the developer. He said UH-West Oahu wants to keep about 200 acres for future expansion of the campus.

"We're at the threshold of what we think we can sell or lease," he said.

The university is also hoping to keep ownership of retail and commercial parcels around the campus that can provide lease rent to pay for some of UH-West Oahu's maintenance and operational costs.