Kamehameha Schools' expansive $118.5 million redevelopment project at its main Kapalama campus will be a boon to Hawaii's struggling building industry.

The three-year project is the single largest in the history of the Kalihi campus. It is expected to generate up to 500 construction jobs, a Kamehameha spokesman said yesterday.

The Kapalama master plan includes revamping the middle school campus, dormitories and physical education and athletics complex, as well as building a long-envisioned Hawaiian cultural center and 500-stall parking structure connected to a pedestrian bridge to Kunuiakea stadium.

The campus has 3,200 students.

“;This is an opportune time for them to capitalize on the downturn in the construction industry,”; said Mike Hamasu, director of consulting and research at Colliers Monroe Friedlander Inc.

Hawaii's total private building permits have declined 16 percent in value to $455 million in the first quarter of 2010 from $542 million in the same period a year earlier, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The state also lost 2,800 construction jobs over the previous year in April, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. There were 29,500 seasonally adjusted building jobs last month, down 8.7 percent from 32,300 the previous year.

“;That's one of the sectors of the economy where we critically need help,”; said Honolulu economist Leroy Laney. “;It'll take more than one project to kick-start the industry.”;

The middle school, which has 640 seventh- and eighth-grade students, will be almost entirely demolished, with the exception of the Keawe Gym and locker room, and replaced with five buildings totaling about 160,000 square feet. That project, which includes the middle school dormitories, begins in June and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

Classrooms will be clustered according to core curriculum courses: English, science, social studies and language, said Wendy Cook, project manager, in a statement.

“;The most noticeable design feature that will enhance general learning spaces is that classes will have a maximum of three walls,”; she said. “;All of the classrooms open into a common central area that increases flexibility.”;

Another part of the master plan is the building of a 30,000-square-foot athletics complex that will house the athletic and physical education departments, men's and women's locker rooms, a weight and fitness room, as well as classrooms and a training room.

The Ka'iwakiloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center, approved by Kamehameha's board of trustees in January 1994, will be the final piece of the campus makeover.

Measuring 22,000 square feet, the facility will mark a major milestone for the state's largest land trust, serving as a symbol of the school's commitment to revitalizing the Hawaiian culture, Kamehameha officials said.

The center was first envisioned in 1992 by former Kamehameha trustee Myron “;Pinky”; Thompson as a place where Hawaiians could learn and celebrate the culture, but the project was put on hold in lieu of expansion to the neighbor islands.

“;It's been a matter of getting things lined up in priority as resources permitted,”; said Kamehameha spokesman Kekoa Paulsen.

In 1996 the school instead opened campuses on Maui and the Big Island, he said.

Nordic PCL is the general contractor on the project. Architects Hawaii Ltd. was contracted for the parking structure and physical education and athletics complex; INK Architects LLC, for the cultural center; and Mitsunaga & Associates Inc. for the middle school and dormitories. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

“;This will certainly help with keeping people employed because many of the larger projects are done,”; said Karen Nakamura, chief executive officer of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. “;You can count the number of projects on one hand, practically, and so we're really grateful that Kamehameha Schools has decided to go forward with this project. It's a good time for them, too, because the prices are coming in very competitive.”;