Renovations to the former Hilo Memorial Hospital should begin next year thanks to a $13 million federal grant.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Hawaii County $13 million through its Community Project Funding Grant program to repair the dilapidated old hospital building. After a year, those funds are now finally available for the county to formally accept.
The building is well over a century old, having opened in 1897, and currently is being used by HOPE Services Hawaii and the Big Island Substance Abuse Council for temporary housing and rehabilitation programs.
Due to its advanced age, the building requires repairs to its roof and interiors, as well as extensive hazardous material remediation.
Harry Yada, assistant housing administrator for the county Office of Housing and Community Development, told the Hawaii County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday the federal grant follows about $1.2 million in county funds already spent on project planning and design.
While the grant requires the funds to be spent by mid-2028, Yada said the project should be completed far sooner.
He said permit applications should be submitted before the end of the year, a contractor should be selected by the first quarter of 2024, and construction itself — expected to take a little over a year — should begin shortly thereafter.
The project will be planned in phases so that residents will be able to stay in the building while work is conducted, Yada said.
Yada said the $13 million should be enough to repair the building’s roof — including installing hexagonal shingles authentic to the building’s original construction, in an effort to restore its historical integrity so that it can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places — and remove hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos from the interiors.
More extensive interior renovations are considered a separate project that will require separate funding.
The repair project also is separate from a planned development of the 25-acre parcel on which the building sits. About 10 acres of the parcel have been deemed developable, and the county has suggested potential uses for that area including affordable housing. An official master plan for that project should be completed by the end of the year.
While members of the Finance Committee were largely in support of the repairs, Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball was a lone voice of dissent, voting against a bill authorizing the county to accept the funds, as a matter of principle.
“I don’t support taxpayer funds going to renovations for this building,” Kimball said. “I appreciate the nostalgia for old buildings, but sometimes, a building is just old and has bad bones. It’s filled with asbestos, lead, other toxins.”
Yada briefly challenged Kimball’s assessment, saying the building “still has good bones, it’s still usable” beneath its current decrepit appearance.
While Kimball said the county can’t very well turn up its nose at a federal infusion of $13 million, she argued that a new building would be a better use for the funds.
Other committee members said they agreed with Kimball’s concerns, but conceded that with the money already awarded, the county has little option but to use it to carry out the terms of the grant as effectively as possible.
The bill will next go to the full County Council for consideration.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
