More details unveiled for Halau of Oiwi Arts
A Draft Environmental Assessment for the project was released
To provide more cultural, social and historical resources in the Valley Isle, a $40 million Hawaiian cultural and community center is being proposed for a site in Wailuku town that was originally eyed for a three-story Maui County office building.
Instead, the county Department of Management intends to go forward with a two-story, 46,000 square-foot Halau of Oiwi Arts building, which aims to advance hula and native and local arts.
The structure will include a mix of workshop, studio, and learning space, a flexible event space, a kitchen, support office space, and an exhibit/reception area, according to the Draft Environmental Assessment and Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact report that was published in the Hawaii Office of Planning and Sustainable Development’s Environmental Notice on April 8.
“This is the first center of its kind,” said kumu hula Hokulani Holt of Pa‘u O Hi‘iaka of Kauahea on the Halau of Oiwi Arts’ website. “It will elevate hula to the honored place that it deserves in our community, throughout the state, and throughout the world.”
Kumu hula Hi‘ilei Maxwell-Juan of Pukalani Hula Hale also wrote in support of the Halau of Oiwi Art because “we need a place to have Halau.”
“We need to take care of the host culture in order to create a better foundation for our community and for future generations to come,” Juan added.
The project also includes the addition of smaller retail and restaurant spaces along Vineyard Street, an internal courtyard, and an outdoor gathering space with landscaped areas, the draft report said.
The facility, located at 30 North Church St. is also planned to be a county emergency shelter, a resiliency and recovery center, and joint information center during emergencies and natural disasters.
The Halau of Oiwi replaces a county building that was originally proposed for the site as part
of the three-acre Wailuku Civic Complex project.
That project included the municipal parking structure that is currently under construction. The structure includes 395 parking stalls and plans also call for streetscape and utility improvements to Vineyard and Church Streets, which are nearly complete, according to the report.
For the original proposed building, the planning, design, utility upgrades and property acquisitions were funded during fiscal years 2016-2018.
In May 2018, the County Council partially funded the original project for $44 million, which allowed for the infrastructure work. A budget amendment to increase funding for the complex by $40 million was passed by the council, but bond funds were not authorized.
After multiple meetings, community outreach that lasted for at least several years, the county came up with the original complex idea, which could have included a public market and event space.
But some community members were opposed saying the proposal was too big for Wailuku town and the money should be spent elsewhere.
In August of 2021, an advocacy-based coalition of Kumu Hula requested a cultural center that could be dedicated to the study, practice, celebration and perpetuation of hula and various arts, the report said.
The shift from a building largely dedicated to office space towards a community center was largely due to the desire to support the cultural, social, and historical impact of Native Hawaiian oiwi art and practices, the Department of Management noted in the report.
With the Halau of Oiwi Arts, the county hopes to “better serve the community by being a gathering space that empowers all people in Maui, Hawaii, and the world by keeping these traditions alive for future generations,” according to the report.
The hours of operation are still to be determined, but the facility is anticipated to operate both during the day and into the evening, potentially up until 10 p.m.
Construction is expected to commence once plans and permit applications are approved, with the potential to break ground in 2024 and finishing in 2026.
The estimated construction cost for the facility is about $40 million. The county has secured General Obligation Bond Funding in Fiscal Year 2023 and was awarded $11 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding.
State funding may also be sought for other aspects of the center’s operations in the future, the report said.
Multiple federal, state and county permits are still required to move forward with the project.
The community is encouraged to participate in the public review and comment period. Comments are due by May 8 to the Department of Management at MD.Of fice@mauicounty.gov and the consulting agency PBR Hawaii and Associates, Inc. at kyuen@pbrhawaii.com.
To view the report see https://planning.hawaii.gov/ erp/environmental-notice/ and click on the April 8 edition of The Environmental Notice.
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