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Hawaii Elementary School Breaks Ground on New Classroom Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 02/10/26

Key Takeaways

  • Kealakehe Elementary School has begun construction on a $16 million, two-story, 13,000-square-foot classroom building designed to physically connect its upper and lower campuses.
  • The new facility will add four classrooms, special education and outdoor learning spaces, administrative areas, and pedestrian bridges, with design elements that blend into the natural Hawaiian landscape.
  • The project reflects strong collaboration among state leaders, district offices, designers, and builders, with completion targeted for September 2027.

Kealakehe Elementary School in Kailua, Hawaii, recently began construction on a new, $16-million classroom building for its campus, according to a news release. The 13,000-square-foot building will stand two stories and connect the existing upper and lower campuses. The district partnered with Urban Works, Inc., for the project’s design, the West Hawaii District Office for construction management services, and Nan Inc. for construction.

“This building has been a bridge, literally and figuratively, connecting the school, partners and our students’ education,” said Keith Hayashi, district superintendent. “From the support of Sen. Dru Kanuha and Rep. Nicole Lowen to the new DAGS district office and the designers who offered a solution that met school needs within site constraints, we are looking forward to this new building connecting the upper and lower campus and elevating the learning environments for students, teachers and staff.”

The facility will include four classrooms, an outdoor classroom, special education classrooms, a covered learning lanai, administrative space, and storage rooms, the news release reports. The new building will connect to existing buildings via two pedestrian bridges. Design features include neutral tones to blend with the natural landscape, as well as copper roofing, colored building outcroppings, and Hardie clapboard siding to give the school a lived-in, homey feel.

“We are grateful to the legislature and Governor Green for supporting the effort of creating a second district office on Hawaiʻi Island. Given the long travel times from Hilo to Kona, it was evident a second office was needed to properly service our schools and DAGS-managed facilities in West Hawaiʻi,” Keith Regan, comptroller and DAGS director, said. “It’s thanks to this support that we now have a highly skilled and motivated district engineer in place in West Hawaiʻi who has positively impacted our support of the DOE and our other operations.”

The building has an estimated completion date of Sept. 2027, according to the news release.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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