Board of Regents approves authorization for issuance of revenue bonds

Approval allows for development of Frear Hall and other student housing projects

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Carolyn Tanaka, (808)956-9803
AVP External Affairs and University Relations
Mia Noguchi, (808)956-9095
PR Director
Posted: Nov 17, 2006

KAHULUI, Hawaiʻi — At its meeting at Maui Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) approved a supplemental resolution authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for university projects in an amount not to exceed $100 million. The revenue bonds are the main funding mechanism for the $71-million Frear Hall project with $46 million of the total cost from the bonds and $25 million from general obligation bonds from the State.

The remainder of the $100 million will be for renovation and repair of housing at Mānoa and UH Hilo, and the expansion of food service facilities supporting housing units for students and faculty.

Frear Hall is the first new student residence facility to be built on the Mānoa campus since 1978. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for November 2006 with construction scheduled for completion by the contractor, American Campus Communities, in time for student occupation in Fall 2008.

In other action, the BOR approved the Maui Community College Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). The action updates the LRDP to align its physical plant development with the institution‘s current strategic and programmatic direction and student population growth.

Originally developed in 1990, the Maui CC LRDP has allowed for construction and renovation of facilities adding 200,000 sq. ft. of space to address the critical need for general education classrooms, laboratories, and office space. It has also provided for growth in specific program areas such as culinary, agriculture, high technology, distance education and continuing education and training.

The LRDP update pursues changing the zoning of the college campus to a "Special Project District" that allows the college to construct facilities of a height up to four stories. In addition, the update will enhance efforts to expand student housing on campus and integrate student residence halls within the college campus space to better support student activities.

The Board also approved an amendment to increase UH Mānoa‘s Campus Center Operations Fee as proposed by the Campus Center Board (CCB) that would result in reasonable increments of up to $26 per semester over the next five years to provide funding for renovation and expansion of Campus Center. The amended fee would be renamed the Campus Center Operations and Recreation Fee.

CCB is a chartered student organization which governs the student union. It is comprised of 17 members, including 14 students and three non-students represented by faculty, staff and alumni. Twenty of its members and leaders of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaiʻi (ASUH) appeared before the Regents to testify in strong favor of the fee increase.

The Campus Center facility currently serves as the home to a variety of student life programs on the UH Mānoa campus, including leadership education, new student orientation programs, registered clubs and leisure recreation programs.

Funds generated by the proposed fee increase will allow students to benefit from renovation and refurbishment of meeting rooms and restrooms, public access and service areas, and modernization of lighting fixtures and flooring. In addition, proposed new construction would create an additional 64,000 sq. ft. for more informal gathering spaces, meeting rooms, offices and recreational facilities to foster healthier lifestyles and physical fitness.

BOR approvals were also given to establish a PharmD Program for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and to transfer Building 36, a former Navy barracks at Kalaeloa Airport, back to the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The action will allow for eventual transfer to the State of Hawaiʻi for use as a homeless shelter by the USDOE and the U.S. Navy.