Kamehameha main campus to undergo $118.5 million, three-year construction

Kamehameha Schools breaks ground on a master plan for its Main Kapalama campus on Oahu in June.  The $118 million, three year construction project includes the redevelopment of most of the Middle School Campus and dorms, as well as the construction of a new Hawaiian Cultural Center, redevelopment of the athletic complex, and construction of a new parking structure.  President and Headmaster Dr. Michael Chun said the work will better equip the campus in its efforts to serve its current enrollment of 3,200 students.

A rendering of the new Hawaiian cultural center, Ka’iwakīloumoku, is the third piece of the Master Plan. (Courtesy INK Architects LLC, Kamehameha Schools)

Redevelopment of the Middle School campus which currently serves 640 students, begins in June. With the exception of Keawe Gym and the locker room, the entire Middle School, will eventually be demolished and replaced with five buildings.

The new Hawaiian cultural center will be named Ka’iwakīloumoku, meaning “the iwa bird that hooks the islands together.”  It is a traditional reference to Kamehameha the Great and his role in unifying the Hawaiian islands under one rule.

(Information courtesy:  Kamehameha Schools, Thomas Yoshida.  Full press release available at:  http://www.ksbe.edu/article.php?story=20100524102736858 )