{"id":186075,"date":"2025-09-27T20:38:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T20:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/186075\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T20:38:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T20:38:08","slug":"construction-begins-on-kukuiola-emergency-shelter-in-kona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/186075\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Begins On Kukuiola Emergency Shelter In Kona"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BIVN) \u2013 Construction of the Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center is underway in Kona.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u02bbi County officials on Thursday marked the milestone in the years-long project that is part of the effort to address homelessness in West Hawai\u02bbi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The project \u2013 located off Kealakehe Parkway and south of the West Hawai\u2018i Civic Center \u2013 will include 16 emergency shelter units, a manager\u2019s unit, a 2,000-square-foot assessment center, community restroom facilities with showers, a 1,400-square-foot community center, and a shared kitchen. The project will include office space for case management services, and open areas for community-building activities. There will also be overnight parking for unsheltered individuals sleeping in vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3D rendering of Kukuiola Phase 1-2, courtesy County of Hawai\u02bbi<\/p>\n

From a Hawai\u02bbi County news release:<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is about bringing hope, care, and aloha to our people,\u201d said Mayor Kimo Alameda. \u201cThese facilities will give families and individuals a safe place to rest, get help, and start rebuilding their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kukuiola, which means \u201clight of life,\u201d is designed to serve as a model for future housing and service sites across the island. The project integrates emergency shelter with access to wraparound services such as case management, behavioral health support, hygiene facilities, and pathways to permanent housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cKukuiola will be a place of safety, healing, and opportunity for our unsheltered residents,\u201d said County Housing Administrator Kehaulani Costa. \u201cWe are grateful for the partnerships that brought us to this moment, and we remain committed to building with care, compassion, and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Elected officials gather for the Kukuiola milestone (courtesy County of Hawai\u02bbi)<\/p>\n

Located off Kealakehe Parkway and south of the West Hawai\u2018i Civic Center, the State-owned site is under Executive Order to the Hawai\u02bbi Housing Finance and Development Corporation and leased to the County. Crews completed mass grading of the site and the access road, Alapono Place, in late 2024.<\/p>\n

Phase 2 will add 50 permanent housing units with support services, and phase 3, currently in the master planning stage, is envisioned as multi-family housing, supported by a recent $400,000 State Transit-Oriented Development Program grant.<\/p>\n

Construction of Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center is expected to take about 18 months. The work is supported by a $10 million federal grant secured by U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono.<\/p>\n

Heartwood Pacific LLC submitted the lowest qualified bid of $13.99 million to construct the facility.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, the County Office of Housing and Community Development will continue to connect with the community throughout the planning and development process to ensure that local input shapes the facility\u2019s operations upon its opening, which is anticipated in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(BIVN) \u2013 Construction of the Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center is underway in Kona. Hawai\u02bbi County officials…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-186075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}