Hawai‘i County published the final draft of its general plan last month, which guides the island’s development through 2045. Among the topics covered are housing, infrastructure, building codes and land use — all areas with a critical impact on the future of construction on Hawai‘i island.
The plan still needs to go through the public comment phase before making its way to the Hawai‘i County Planning Commission, County Council and, finally, Hawai‘i island Mayor Mitch Roth.
While the plan’s future remains unknown, the current state of construction on Hawai‘i island looks promising. There’s lots of current activity, with several more big projects — both in scale and significance — on the way.
HAWAI‘I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
A series of earthquakes during a months-long eruption in 2018 caused the collapse of Kīlauea Volcano’s caldera, with the nearby Jaggar Museum, surrounding support structures and area infrastructure suffering significant damage.
Following years of assessments and public feedback, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park released its Disaster Recovery Plan in 2022, providing a strategy to “repair, replace, relocate or remove critical park infrastructure,” facilities and equipment damaged during the Kīlauea eruption.
Sun Construction Inc. and Goodfellow Bros. LLC partnered together to execute the plan. Jeremiah Leonard, Sun Construction president, heads the effort as managing member of Goodfellow-Sun JV LLC. While the two companies are handling different aspects of this multi-phase project, the full scope of work falls under the joint venture.
“Sun Construction Inc.’s work on this project includes the careful dismantling of the structures at Uēkahuna bluff including the Jaggar Museum, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Geochemistry Annex building,” says Leonard.
Sun’s work includes the replacement of water tanks that service the comfort station and Nāmakanipaio campground, along with improvements to the comfort station. Sun is also repairing the stone wall at the overlook, making pathway improvements and preserving the Jaggar Museum site “utilizing stones from the building to mark the building corners and create new benches,” explains Leonard.
Goodfellow’s work includes the installation of a traffic circle connecting Crater Rim Drive East and West with the Kīlauea Visitor Center parking lot.
“Along with the traffic circle, new utility and water line infrastructure will be installed for future improvements to HECO, Hawaiian Tel, Spectrum and NPS services throughout the park,” says Leonard.
Throughout this phase of the project, the team is salvaging and reusing as much material as possible, successfully diverting 90 percent from the landfill towards other uses. Stone veneers, cabinets, counters, windows, doors and framing materials from the existing buildings — even concrete and asphalt — are being salvaged and incorporated into the new work, or otherwise recycled.
“It takes a little extra work, but in the end, we will have preserved the historical aspects of this site,” Leonard says.
The joint venture has proven successful, with Goodfellow and Sun hoping to collaborate again on future projects, he adds.
“We are concerned that an unforeseen slowdown may be coming at some point, but so far, we have been fortunate to have work and keep our team working steadily,” Leonard says.
Work on the approximately $18 million Disaster Recovery Project began in January, with completion expected by Sept. 2025 or sooner.
Plans for Waikoloa Plaza West include the construction of two hotels: a Holiday Inn Express and a Candlewood Suites.
RENDERING COURTESY MERIDIAN PACIFIC LTD.
The Lofts at Waikoloa will introduce over 300 residential units to the surrounding community. PHOTO COURTESY MERIDIAN PACIFIC LTD.
WAIKOLOA PLAZA & THE LOFTS AT WAIKOLOA
On the other side of the island, Waikoloa is experiencing its own eruption of sorts. Meridian Pacific Ltd. is in the midst of developing an approximately 45-acre site into a mixed-use master-planned development that will include over 300 residential units, a 135,346 square-foot shopping center and two hotels.
Meridian is serving as both the developer and general contractor for the $420 million project.
Planning began in 2017 and Waikoloa Plaza, a shopping center anchored by a Foodland, opened in July 2023. Waikoloa Plaza West, an extension to the shopping center anchored by HPM Building Supply, is projected to open in August 2026. Encircling the retail centers will be two hotels — a Candlewood Suites and a Holiday Inn Express — as well as 342 market-rate residential rentals collectively called “The Lofts at Waikoloa.”
The hotels will be completed in late 2026 and The Lofts are rolling out in five phases, with the first two phases already completed and leased.
“By diversifying with a mix of residential units, commercial spaces, entertainment venues, food and beverage outlets and hotel spaces, the Waikoloa Plaza development allows multiple sources of income, making the development more resilient to market fluctuations,” says Gary Pinkston, president of Meridian Pacific.
Pinkston, who estimates the plaza will see 1,800 people per day, sees a “strong future” for the construction sector.
According to Pinkston, Meridian has invested approximately $700 million on Hawai‘i island to date and has future plans to add to that amount by developing affordable housing on the island as well.
HILTON WAIKOLOA VILLAGE
The Waikoloa area also finds Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. Inc. working on the third phase of the Hilton Waikoloa Village Ocean Tower Conversion.
The project entails the conversion of 114 hotel guest rooms into 84 timeshare units, according to William J. Maguire, project manager. Completion of the 94,442-square-foot project is scheduled for this month, just over one year after its August 2023 start date.
Hawaiian Dredging previously worked on the Ocean Tower Conversion Phase 2 that saw 120 hotel rooms converted into 90 timeshare units, and has since developed an “excellent working relationship with the owner and construction manager,” says Maguire.
“Indicators of construction on the Big Island are mostly positive, especially for private and state government projects,” he adds.
While Hawaiian Dredging is unable to disclose any specifics, Maguire says the company is currently pursuing other opportunities on the Big Island.
KAUHALE I KE KULA UKA
Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka, formerly known as Kaloko Heights, is an affordable housing project in Kailua-Kona being built by Coastal Construction Co. Inc.
The $40.5 million project began accepting applications in July in anticipation of the project’s scheduled October completion date. Construction of the 99-unit development began in April 2023.
Coastal Construction Project Coordinator Jon Rapisura sees great significance in “being able to provide affordable housing for the people of the Kona-side of the Big Island.”
“As we all know, housing is so expensive, so being able to provide this for the people really means a lot to us,” he says. “On the Big Island, our employees are 100 percent from there and it’s also important because we are able to provide employment for locals.”
While the project has proceeded well with no issues, the team did encounter some historical artifacts on the job site. Cultural and archaeological monitors helped guide Coastal Construction through the process of handling the artifacts.
“The unique archaeological features onsite and the teamwork to acknowledge and preserve those sites was a unique situation,” says Rapisura. “This was a first for us and was very educational for our team to be involved, something we will always look back on as a special opportunity.”
In addition to Kauhale I Ke Kula Uka, Coastal Construction is also currently working on the third phase of La‘i‘Ōpua, another affordable housing project, after having worked on the first two phases.
Coastal is also working on, or has recently completed, other Big Island projects in the residential and hospitality sectors.
“On the Big Island, Coastal has been very fortunate for the steadiness and consistency of work throughout the years,” says Rapisura. “Our goal was to set up a base there over 25 years ago and be able to employ all locals from the island. It was a long haul but we feel we’ve achieved this.”
LA‘I‘ŌPUA
Working alongside Coastal Construction on La‘i‘Ōpua is HPM Building Supply.
“Our commitment includes the supply of framing, trusses, siding, trim, windows, doors, roofing, finishing materials and paint,” says HPM Vice President of Sales and Branch Operations Jason Fujita. “We also supplied the same materials for the first two phases of the project.
“While the year began with a slow start due to rising interest rates and other market factors, we’re now observing a mid-year increase in construction activities. … With the recent surge in construction across Hawai‘i island, we remain encouraged in terms of our outlook towards the rest of the year,” he says.
HALE NA KOA ‘O HANAKAHI
Affordable housing developer EAH Housing currently has 14 projects under construction across California and Hawai‘i. In Hilo, they are overseeing the development of Hale Na Koa ‘O Hanakahi, a $43.7 million project that will provide 92 affordable rental units for seniors, with preference given to veterans and their surviving spouses.
“Lower income households in the 30 percent to 80 percent of area median income category will be eligible” as well, explains Marian Gushiken, EAH vice president of real estate development – Hawai‘i.
“This project represents a lot of firsts for EAH Housing,” says Gushiken. “It is the first project we have developed in the County of Hawai‘i and we are very excited.
“It is also the first project we have developed that serves eligible seniors with a preference for veterans and surviving spouses, with the latter preference being very unique and we have not seen it elsewhere.”
While EAH does not have any other current or planned projects on the Big Island, they are always keeping their eyes open for opportunities. Though Gushiken acknowledges the typical challenges in Hawai‘i with acquiring affordable land, having ready access to infrastructure and securing the needed financial resources to underwrite construction projects, she does see reason for optimism.
“The good news is that we have found the County’s Office of Housing and Community Development to be very supportive in providing both guidance and financial leverage with locally controlled funds, to position these affordable housing projects as best as possible to compete for the necessary state resources,” Gushiken says. “The County also has the political will to push forward on these projects — having that collective local support goes a long way.”
