Assessment details plans for old Hilo hospital renovations

HILO, Hawai‘i — A plan to renovate the old Hilo Memorial Hospital continues apace after a draft environmental assessment for the project was published last week.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2022 awarded Hawai‘i County a $13 million grant to fund much-needed repairs for the dilapidated old hospital building, which was opened in 1897 and is currently being used for temporary housing and rehabilitation programs by HOPE Services Hawai‘i and the Big Island Substance Abuse Council.

The county was only able to formally accept the funds last year, but has planned a three-phase effort to both repair the building and redevelop about 10 acres of the 25-acre parcel on which the hospital sits.

While the latter phases of that project would potentially develop a new state Department of Health mental health facility and about 160 affordable rental housing units, the draft environmental assessment published on March 8 primarily is focused on the hospital’s renovation.

Multiple public outreach meetings were held last year to obtain feedback how future phases could be developed, but the draft assessment did not include specific plans beyond the renovation.

Chelsea Jensen, spokeswoman for the county Office of Housing and Community Development, said via email on Tuesday that future project phases are currently dependent on state and federal funding, which the county is continuing to pursue.

According to the draft environmental assessment, the renovation is an effort to address the homelessness across the state, with the county’s goal to eventually reach “functional zero” homelessness — described as “an adequate supply of shelter and housing units; appropriate types of interventions in place; and the ability to rapidly respond to any person who is experiencing homelessness, regardless of their level of need.”

The building’s renovation would make available about 126 beds for residents, and convert about 61,000 square feet of unoccupied space into offices, storage and patient rooms.

Jensen said the building’s existing use is not expected to change following the renovation, and current tenants will be able to “expand their spaces and services” using the new areas.

Assistant Housing Administrator Harry Yada said last year that the current tenants shouldn’t be displaced during renovation work and will be able to move to unaffected rooms as construction proceeds.

Jensen said in her email that construction is tentatively expected to begin this summer, with bids to contractors to go out by the second quarter of the year.

The full renovation work is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete. Included among the work is a plan to install hexagonal shingles authentic to the century-old building’s original construction, as part of an effort to get the hospital listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Although Jensen said the $13 million grant — along with an additional $3.6 million secured by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz — should be enough to complete at least the renovation phase, some county lawmakers have said the project is not a wise use of funds.

“I get the appeal of reusing old buildings, but I think in the long run these old buildings end up being more expensive than a new facility that’s built to purpose,” said Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball, who was the sole County Council member to vote against accepting the funds last year. “Sometimes if we’re retrofitting these old buildings for new purposes, the cost of chasing these abatements is just going to escalate quickly.”

While Kimball conceded the county would be hard-pressed to turn down millions in federal funds, she said she hopes state and federal lawmakers can see the value in new construction that won’t necessarily have costs overrun just to stay in compliance with modern fire codes.

A draft master plan for the site, including public feedback from last year’s community meetings, can be found at tinyurl.com/29r4acy4.