The new Kona judiciary complex has a site.
Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald on Friday selected a 10-acre site on Kealakehe Parkway and Ane Keohokalole Highway to house the long-planned judiciary complex.
“A new courthouse in West Hawaii is badly needed,” Recktenwald said in a written statement. “The Kealakehe site will allow the Judiciary to consolidate its operations in a modern facility that will best serve the people of West Hawaii. I appreciate the support provided by Big Island legislators, members of the bar and the community.”
The 140,000-square-foot complex will accommodate seven full-time judges and 220 employees, and judiciary officials anticipated it would meet West Hawaii’s needs beyond 2030.
West Hawaii Bar Association President Robert Kim said he was grateful Recktenwald picked that location, which was the association’s preferred site.
“We are happy the chief justice listened to the concerns of West Hawaii attorneys,” Kim said. “The West Hawaii Bar Association had recommended that site because of its location next to the West Hawaii Civic Center, its access to public transportation and its ability to expand, if necessary.”
The selected site is state property, but the state will need to transfer its ownership to the Judiciary for work to begin.
Judiciary officials, in their announcement, said construction is tentatively scheduled to begin on the $90 million project in 2014. They hope to complete the complex in 2017. The project will be the largest state construction project on the island, Kim said.
Is the bar association ready to wait another five years?
“We’re hopeful it can be completed before that,” Kim said. “We’ll take whatever we can get.”
Kim has served on committees seeking a unified judiciary complex since the early 1990s.
Legislators last year appropriated $11 million for planning.
Seven sites made the final list to be considered for the complex. Right now, the judiciary has three courthouse locations in West Hawaii, with limited parking and cramped waiting areas for defendants, witnesses, family members, attorneys and court staff.
