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lthough the local industry is facing challenges due to labor shortages and unpredictable markets, the Garden Isle shows no indication that its slew of projects is slowing down anytime soon.
“Kaua‘i is in a construction boom and our backlog looks healthy for the next two years,” says Shioi Construction Inc. President Roy Y. Shioi.
The housing and commercial sectors seem to be the current focus for Kaua‘i projects as the push for statewide affordable housing and community building upgrades are driving construction. Water infrastructure projects are also ramping up to match the pace of new builds.
“For projects that have already been approved, we do not have water supply issues,” says Joe Tait, Kaua‘i Department of Water (DOW) manager and chief engineer. “However, due to numerous projects being planned, there may be limitations in the existing water infrastructure to [allow] us to support future projects, especially since water infrastructure upgrades take time to plan, design and construct.”
BUSY RESIDENTIAL BUILDS
Similar to the other islands, Kaua‘i is seeing an exponential rise in affordable housing projects. Shioi says the company is now working on six affordable housing projects in varying phases. One project, ‘Uahi Ridge Affordable Housing, stands out because of its use of structural insulated panels (SIPs) made from expanded polystyrene foam cores and two single-ply oriented strand boards — a first for the company.
“Since we are a union shop, the developer had to get a MOA (memorandum of agreement) with the Carpenter’s Union to allow us to use SIPs,” Shioi says. “SIPs will provide two weeks of cost-free training for our carpenters.”
Unlimited Construction Services Inc. is also continuing its work on various affordable housing projects on Kaua‘i after gaining accolades in 2024 for Lima Ola Affordable Family and Senior Housing.
“We have our Kai Olino Apartments project that’s doing Buildings B and C. … Right now it’s a total of 51 units,” says Unlimited Operations Manager Michael Acoba. “And we do have another building coming which will add another 24 units to the property and it’s set to start sometime this summer.”
Aside from affordable units strictly designated for those making up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), middle-income housing projects are also appearing in the discourse for future developments.
“We also are hoping for more missing [middle-income] housing because [they] are the people that make too much to qualify for affordable housing, but they don’t make enough for a market-rate home,” Layton Construction Co. LLC Business Development Manager Mia Checkley says.
Checkley shares that a community meeting with developers and contractors revealed the desire for middle-income housing from community members.
“We continue to talk about missing [middle-income] housing to address that gap,” she says.
HOSPITABLE FUTURE
Although the Garden Isle’s hospitality sector is alive and well, the Coco Palms Resort, one of Kaua‘i’s higher-profile hospitality projects, is “dead in the water” for now, says Checkley, though contractors remain hopeful for its return.
“The Coco Palms project has been talked about and planned for decades, and it would be exciting to see it finally built,” says Tylynn McMonagle, Beachside Roofing LLC Kaua‘i division manager.
Beachside Roofing has plenty of projects to keep them busy in the meantime, including supporting Nordic PCL Construction Inc. on a four-story hotel out of Hōkūala Resort’s existing golf clubhouse. Beachside will be providing waterproofing, fluid-applied roofing, single-ply roofing and standing-seam metal roofing.
“The most challenging aspect of the project for us is the renovation of the existing clubhouse, which was built in the ‘80s and has quite a few fun conditions to work through,” says McMonagle.
Other hospitality projects are in the pipeline, but the general public will not be seeing construction until a few years down the road, contractors say.
OUTSOURCING ON THE GARDEN ISLE
Labor shortages continue to plague Kaua‘i construction. Contractors are still resorting to transporting workers from O‘ahu and the continent to close the gap. Kaua‘i also lacks certain specialty workers, requiring additional outsourcing.
“Another issue with that is you got to find housing for all these guys,” Acoba adds. “So with a housing shortage, you have to know, … do you bring guys over? And it just gets more costly if you got to put them up in hotels and such.”
Some contractors opt for purchasing company accommodations, but various workforce housing options are also under construction on Kaua‘i.
Kaua‘i’s remote location not only poses workforce challenges but also creates material and equipment shortages. While there are some on-island supplier yards, specialty materials and equipment deliveries often lag. Kaua‘i projects are regularly delayed a few weeks in comparison to O‘ahu projects due to shipment times and material availability.
“… Our superintendents and foreman have good relationships with the rental companies and try to reserve equipment ahead of time,” Shioi says.
General contractors on Kaua‘i are not too concerned with the tariffs affecting material supply immediately but are still observing market changes for future projects.
“Unfortunately, when sending materials to Kaua‘i we end up dealing with the tariffs twice — once during purchasing, and once more getting the material from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i,” McMonagle says. “Our bigger concern is how tariffs might affect the supply chain if companies start to hoard material like they did during the pandemic. Hoarding substantially increased lead times for certain roofing materials and caused major project delays.”
UPWARD AND ONWARD
Regardless of economic uncertainty, contractors confidently push forward.
Shioi is working on Waimea High School’s new gym, later to be followed by a similar project at Kapa‘a High School “in a couple [of] years,” Shioi says.
Unlimited recently finished a new First Hawaiian Bank branch in Līhu‘e, but as with other Kaua‘i contractors, most of its current and future projects are in affordable housing.
Layton’s Checkley says “there’s so much work around the corner on Kaua‘i,” noting that various commercial, educational and residential projects will begin to take shape in the next couple of years, but affordable housing is now at the forefront.
“There’s a big push,” she says. “The County of Kaua‘i is being very proactive in facilitating the building of affordable housing on Kaua‘i.”
The Kaua‘i Department of Water is working hard to prepare for the surge of new builds coming in one or two years while also providing sufficient water supply to existing communities for personal use and fire protective measures.
“All of the current projects are important to provide reliable potable water service to our community,” says DOW’s Tait. “Of these, the two standout projects are our Kalaheo Water System Improvements and Kapa‘a Homesteads Tanks projects as they are the two largest DOW contracts, both over $20 million.”
Tait also shares that the DOW is working on the Water Systems Investment Plan, meant to upgrade capital improvement programs based on the island’s supply and fire-protection needs, but is unable to move forward at the moment due to lack of funding. However, the DOW team is “committed to executing these projects,” he says, within the next
20 years.
