A long-awaited senior center in Hilo will begin construction before the fall.
Hawaii Island Veterans Memorial Inc. will break ground on a 92-unit housing facility on Kawili Street across from the University of Hawaii at Hilo for seniors, veterans and veterans’ spouses “between June and September,” said project chairman Bob Williams.
The project has been in the works for well over a decade, and will specifically seek “middle-income” tenants — those with annual incomes up to $40,000, Williams said. That threshold, he said, is roughly equivalent to the average yearly income of a disabled veteran.
While Williams said he hopes the groundbreaking on the housing facility can take place in August, another facet of the project has run into complications. In addition to the 92 housing units, the project was always planned to include an outpatient medical clinic onsite, developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Williams said the VA unexpectedly dropped out of the project, opting to not publish a request for proposal to develop the clinic at the chosen site — the department instead is seeking a larger site for a larger building, Williams said.
But although the VA is no longer involved in the project, Williams said he still intends to build the clinic, and is working with “a credible established medical services provider to be announced.”
“We had gotten the site construction-ready for them, complete with all entitlements, a county-approved architectural plan and all engineer plans done to their specifications,” Williams said in a statement. “We were giving them this opportunity free of charge, including a 65-year renewable lease for ($1 per year). Surprised by this unexpected decision, we decided to re-purpose our work and develop a medical facility ourselves since there’s a critical shortage of facilities suitable for medical practices everywhere on island.”
If all goes well, Williams said he hopes to kick off a $12 million fundraising campaign around the same time as the housing facility groundbreaking — including the Veterans Memorial’s signature Jazz and Blues Festival in October — with the clinic’s hopeful construction start date in June 2024.
Williams said that, should all $12 million be raised through donations, he hopes to offer the partnered medical services provider “a sweetheart deal on rent,” and, eventually, set up an endowment to offer scholarships to high school graduates pursuing secondary education in the state.
“So we’ll have three legacy projects going eventually,” Williams said.
At a meeting of the Hawaii County Council on Wednesday, council members approved without discussion easement access to the housing facility site to a subsidiary of California-based nonprofit EAH Inc., which is managing the development of the facility.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.