Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center
Project Summary
The Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center is envisioned by the County of Hawai‘i to provide space for a multi-organization/multi-agency approach to help reduce the number of homeless individuals and couples without children in the Kealakehe and greater North Kona region, and provide social services and programs to help transition emergency shelter individuals to permanent housing and/or affordable housing programs to meet homeless housing goals.
Located off Kealakehe Parkway south of the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, the State land is under Executive Order to the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation and leased to the County of Hawai‘i.
The Project includes construction of 16 emergency shelter units, an approximately 2,000-square-foot assessment center, shared community restroom facilities with showers, a 1,400-square-foot community center and shared kitchen space, office space for case management services and other resources to be delivered on site, a manager’s unit, and open space for community building activities.
In addition, safe overnight parking stalls will be provided at the site for unsheltered individuals living in vehicles.
Project Status
Crews completed mass grading of the Kukuiola site and construction of the access road, Alapono Place, in late 2024, preparing the property for vertical development.
Following a competitive Request for Proposals process, Heartwood Pacific LLC was selected to construct the first phase of the Kukuiola Emergency Shelter and Assessment Center. Construction began after a site blessing and groundbreaking in September 2025.
Construction is now well underway. Crews have completed foundation work, poured concrete, and begun vertical construction of the emergency shelter and assessment center facilities.
The project remains on schedule, with an anticipated opening in 2027. The County of Hawaiʻi Office of Housing and Community Development will continue community engagement and operational planning as construction progresses.
Funding Sources
This work is supported in part by a $10 million in federal Community Planning and Development grant secured by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz.