Green Shoots on the Garden Isle

Extensive public area and guest room renovations at the Kauai Marriott Resort were recently completed by dck pacific.

By Judith Shinsato

Numerous reports have begun to surface announcing the beginnings of an economic recovery, at least nationwide. What does this mean for Kauai? Have green shoots begun to appear amid the frost or are contractors hunkering down for a prolonged “winter”?

Rooted in Civil Service

We asked all those interviewed to tell us where the shoots were sprouting. The unanimous answer? In the public sector. Unfortunately, while there’s no denying that public agencies are where the work is coming from, they have their own challenges.

“Yes, the public sector is really the only market where most of the projects are originating from,” says Ben Prock, Hawaii area manager of Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. (formerly Kiewit Pacific Co.). “As far as we can see, there seems to be a number of firms bidding for the same projects, which indicates that a lot of contractors sit in anticipation and are ‘hungry’ for work.”

Kiewit currently has the largest public roadwork project on the island, the $39 million first phase of the widening of Kaumualii Highway. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) project will add two lanes to the existing two-lane highway from the town of Lihue to the town of Puhi, according to Prock. Construction began in May, with completion scheduled for early 2012.

The entire highway also will be reconstructed using Portland cement concrete pavement to increase the durability and lifespan of the roadway, making it the first major concrete highway on Kauai.

Also on Kaumualii Highway, Earthworks Pacific is doing slope stabilization for the DOT. Jeff Fisher, company president, adds that while public sector projects are out to bid, many are slow to get into active construction, with some potentially not being awarded at all. Earthworks recently was low bidder on several Department of Land and Natural Resources reservoir projects. “We’re catching wind that some of the projects may not be awarded,” says Fisher. “Even though the bids are coming in way under budget, they are not coming in low enough for the funding that has been appropriated for the projects.”

“There are public sector jobs coming out,” agrees Keith Suga of Goodfellow Bros. on Kauai, “but there are more contractors needing work than work coming out. With that projects are really being priced aggressively, which makes bidding tough for all contractors.”
Suga continues, “The biggest challenge is keeping local employees employed. Kauai is small enough such that there is a widespread sense of family throughout the island. All of our workers live on Kauai and most were born and raised on Kauai. We have tried our best to plan our work to avoid downtime and keep the workers going throughout the year. We have been lucky to have projects with the public sector that have been flexible as far as startup. That allows us to move projects around to fill in gaps and keep the work flowing for the employees.”

Goodfellow’s largest project is Phase II Lateral Expansion Cell 1 Base Liner Construction, Kekaha Sanitary Landfill. The $6.9 million project started at the beginning of this year and is scheduled for completion later this month. “(Kauai) County was getting close to reaching its maximum capacity on the existing cell,” explains Suga, “so this project was phased to allow a portion of the new expanded cell to be constructed and certified for use.” The company also is working on a number of water main installations around the island, including along Menehune Road and Alawai Road.

Planted Seedlings

Besides the projects mentioned above, other public works are currently ongoing around the island.

Unlimited Construction Services, Inc. continues with one of the larger projects on the west side, formally titled the Kuhio Highway Short Term Improvement, Wailua Cane Haul Bridge Widening. A project with the state DOT, the project was originally slated for a September 2010 completion but changes to the contract, i.e. additional work, have pushed it to May 2011. One of the major facets of the project, the new prefabricated metal two-lane bridge, is set to be installed this month. Because the road is a major transportation artery, traffic mitigation and safety have been essential throughout the course of the project, according to Sujatha Ramaraju, project manager for Unlimited.

Another Unlimited Construction project was completed six months ahead of schedule: the Kaiakea Fire Station, the first new one built on Kauai since the original seven fire stations were opened in 1942. The new 6,600-square-foot facility is engineered to withstand 191-mph winds and was designed with large swales around the site to divert water away from the building during heavy rains. The building also utilizes a number of energy-efficient measures, according to Brett Schmauch, senior project engineer for Unlimited, including skylights, a daylight harvesting system, reflective roofing, reflective roof insulation, insulation at the exterior walls and solar hot water.

In downtown Lihue, Shioi Construction, Inc. recently began the extensive renovation of the historic county building originally built in 1913. Partially funded with the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), the project entails restoring the interior to its original aesthetic while meeting modern regulations.

Drought-Resistant Private Work

Green shoots are a little harder to find when it comes to private work, however those that were able to begin construction continue to move forward and are nearing completion.
One project providing significant work for the industry is the Kukuiula plantation core, with general contractor Linthicum Custom Builders LLC and its approximately 40 subcontractors. According to Ralph Kelsey, vice president of Hawaii operations for Linthicum, the project is currently at its peak and 160-200 workers can be found on site on any given day – all in preparation for the facility’s Dec. 30 soft opening.

The massive project (the spa alone consists of 14 buildings) is the core of the community’s amenities and includes the main Plantation House, locker room with men’s and women’s wings, the spa, a cart barn, beach house, event pavillion and other structures. All were designed to reflect Hawaii’s plantation heritage.

“We sense a lot of excitement and momentum,” says Jeannine Doyle, president and COO of Linthicum, “given that the golf course is nearing completion and portions of the club will be open at the end of the year. There’s a lot of activity.”

And the plantation core is not the only construction activity. “We’ve also broken ground on a custom home,” adds Doyle, and expect to break ground on three additional homes, these located near the golf course.

Also in the Poipu area, construction has restarted at Koloa Landing. The first phase, which includes five buildings and two pools, is expected to be completed by October this year, according to Shaun Keep, vice president of general contractor Layton Construction. Overall the resort-residential project, which sits on 21 acres, will consist of 20 buildings and four pools. Each building averages 16 units each.

Layton Construction also is nearing completion of the three-story, 25,000-square-foot Kauai Federal Credit Union, which was designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standards.

A fast-tracked project that has just completed the first phase is the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa full guest room renovation, work that general contractor dck pacific construction, LLC began in April this year. A total of 565 guest rooms within three buildings will be redone, including all new furniture and fixtures throughout the units, along with bathroom upgrades. Norman Kaitoku, dck pacific’s project director, says the remaining two buildings will be completed by March 2011. To remain on schedule, Kaitoku says work crews must turn over 12 to 14 rooms a day.

dck pacific also just completed extensive renovations to guest rooms and public spaces at the Kauai Marriott Resort, the project featured in this month’s Concept to Completion, which begins on page 39.

And as many of these projects draw to a close, many contractors are looking to Hokulei Village as another source of private sector construction.

To be built on 22 acres in Lihue, it will be anchored by a more than 57,000-square-foot Safeway Lifestyle store and built in two phases. Phase one is planned to include the Safeway store, another major store, four restaurants, two retail complexes, a bank and gas station and 60 percent of the total 1,025 parking stalls. Phase two tentatively will include two more major retail shops along with a smaller store and three restaurants.

Also part of the project will be improvements on Kaumualii Highway with storage lanes and turns into the center and pedestrian crosswalks, some with in-pavement, pedestrian-activated warning lights. When Phase II is built, the major access to that portion of the center will be serviced by a roundabout.

Though still in design phase, leasing is actively under way. Businesses that have signed letters of intent or have actually signed leases include a major sporting goods firm, a well-known discount apparel outlet, a major drugstore chain, a national fast food chain and several smaller eateries, financial institutions and others.

“The Safeway project will help improve the overall state of construction on the island,” says Conrad Murashige, president of Shioi Construction, Inc. “There will be a lot of sitework at first, then the core and shell followed by tenant improvements.”

Shioi Construction is currently working on several large and small renovation projects at Wilcox Memorial Hospital as well as Kauai Care Center, a new 20-bed, long-term care facility, and Anaina Hou, a commercial development in Kilauea that will include a miniature golf course and caddy shack, a one-stop shop plant nursery and community center.

The Prognosis

Expressing a sentiment shared by many on the island, Kiewit’s Prock says, “The current state of construction remains slow and we don’t expect recovery to be a speedy one.”
“Private sector work is pretty limited,” adds Shioi’s Murashige, “primarily due to the lack of commercial lending.”

Randy Finlay, Unlimited Construction president, agrees, “We have some interesting prospects but most of the developers are having a difficult time securing financing to allow the projects to move forward. In terms of federal regulations, the pendulum has swung so far that legitimate projects with legitimate developers can’t get the money. That’s a real problem. There’s a lot of … qualified developers out there who want to move forward but without financing they can’t do anything.”

However, Finlay admits that construction is a lagging industry. “When the recession started, we were coasting for about a year before we really got hit,” he says. “As the economy recovers, the construction industry is probably a year away from seeing that upturn. I’m hoping things are moving by first quarter next year.”

Murashige says he’s been talking to those on the design side, architects and engineers, who say they are working on Kauai projects. “But no one is really sure when those projects will come out (to bid),” he adds.

Most forecast 2011 to be the year when the industry really begins to turn around. Until then, contractors continue to pursue what work they can to maintain as much of their workforce as possible.

On the upside, Finlay says, “Doing work on Kauai is always a pleasure because everyone always works together, all the various trades help each other out, it’s a real friendly atmosphere on the construction sites. It’s always been business with aloha. That’s a high point and an encouraging environment in which to do business.

“We’re not being idle,” concludes Finlay. “We’re getting ready. We’re getting permits and getting tooled up so when the recovery does come, we can run.”

Alcal Hawaii
Aloha Cargo Transport
Aloha Marketing
Beachside Roofing
Blaze Masters Fire Protection, LLC
Carrier Hawaii
Cement & Concrete Products Industry of Hawaii
City Mill
Clean Sewer Lines Hawaii
Commercial Shelving, Inc.
Cycle City Ltd.
Dorvin D. Leis Co., Inc.
Earthworks Pacific Inc.
Geotech Solutions, Inc.
Goodfellow Bros., Inc.
GW Killebrew
Hawaii Finishing Alliance
Haw’n Rock Products Corp.
Hawthorne
Hawaii Lumber Products Association
Honsador Lumber
HPM Building Supply
International Code Council
Isla Paint & Roof Supply
JBL Hawaii, Ltd.
JD Painting Hawaii
Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.
Kikiaola Construction/Structure Movers Hawaii
Kila Manufacturing, LLC.
Lenox Metals, LLC
Pella Windows & Doors
Project Transport
R&D Technologies, Inc.
Revolusun
RMA Sales
Rocky Mountain Precast
Royal Pacific Industries
Service Rental & Supplies, Inc.
Creative Partition Systems
Swinerton Builders
Tileco Inc.
Truss Systems Hawaii
Tsang Brothers Corporation
Unlimited Construction Services