The Arts and Sciences Center in Puna is proposing a campus expansion that could add six new buildings and 18 supporting features to its 24-acre property.
The expansion recently passed a draft environmental assessment from the County of Hawaii Planning Department, noting the development would not have a significant effect on the environment.
The expansion would include classrooms, performance centers, commercial kitchens, computer labs, design and fabrication studios for both school and community use, along with other spaces related to workforce development, agriculture, community gatherings and education.
“ASC was formed to provide outstanding support and infrastructure for community-based learning,” said Gail Clarke, board president of ASC. “We have a lot of genius in our community, and our mission is to support that.”
Currently, ASC supports 735 students, with 260 enrolled in the high school program at the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences. By the completion of the project, ASC estimates an increase of 150 total visitors to the campus.
“As more classes are offered, we are looking to onboard really good facilitators and educators and to capture much of that as a resource,” said ASC Director McLean Eames. “There’s so much innovation and potential in our community, but resources are often so far away, or a professional facility is just not accessible.”
With a map and concepts created for the expansion, funding is still being pursued.
“We’re working to secure funding at federal, state and county levels,” said Clarke, who estimated the cost of the expansion at roughly $60 million, which would be broken down into several phases.
Phase one would focus on building the event center and auditorium, atrium, main campus road and parking lot drop off locations, estimated to cost roughly $20 million.
“Phase one includes a lot of infrastructure,” Clarke said. “The roadways, the water systems — it’s not just the $3 million building, it’s the $15 (million) to $27 million prepping of the site.”
The environmental assessment addressed potential changes to water, traffic and the environment resulting from the expansion.
“My background is as an ecologist,” said Clarke. “We are aware and sensitive to the place we live in, for example, being stewards of our aquifer on terrain identified as a 300-acre floodplain that covers most of Pahoa town. Environmental, social and cultural impact comes up in nearly every discussion about planning.”
To mitigate potential traffic, the expansion includes several roadway improvements such as paving Post Office Road, which has been completed, along with adding turning lanes and a traffic signal to Pahoa Bypass and Post Office Road.
Construction on phase one would begin following the completed permitting and designs, as well as when additional funding sources are identified.
The current goal for the project’s completion is estimated at 2031.
Citing a shortage of community workforce development resources for the Puna District, the campus expansion was conceptualized by ASC following the 2018 Kilauea eruption to address economic disparities throughout the area.
“We’re involved with the Puna Community Development Plan with the county, and the County Resilience Action Committees and the Economic Committee,” said Clarke. “It’s about jobs and living wages and helping people develop themselves in a way where they can live comfortably and have a quality life while turning around and contributing in whatever way that looks like for them.”
Puna is one of the fastest growing districts in the county, with census data from 2010 indicating a population increase of 44.6% over the prior 10 years. As population grows, resources for the community in the plan include a new performance venue.
“We have one 60-foot in diameter pavilion that we use for everything,” said Clarke. “We’ve outgrown it and we’d like to have community learning festivals and bring the community in to share and celebrate. This event center would provide that.”
Additional information on the proposed project can be found at www.hiasc.org.
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.