TWO FEDERAL BUILDINGS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN $33.3 MILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, July 30, 2009

WASHINGTON – Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye announced today that the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (PJKK) Federal Building and Courthouse will receive $28 million and the Hilo Federal Building and U.S. Post Office will receive $5.3 million for renovation and modernization. 

The funding comes from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

In March, the Honolulu Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (PJKK) Federal Building received $121 million in stimulus funds from GSA for redesign of the federal campus and full modernization, renovation and construction of the courthouse related portion of the facility (approximately 220,000 square feet). 

The Hilo Federal Building received $15.7 million in ARRA funding in March for energy improvements.

“The PJKK federal building is the federal government’s historic headquarters in Hawaii and a base for all Pacific rim operations and services.  It needs to be renovated to keep up with the times.” said Chairman Inouye. “The Hilo Federal Building and U.S. Post Office provide the people of Hawaii County with critical access to federal government services and opportunities.  Also, by refurbishing these critical structures, we create job opportunities for workers in need of employment during these tough economic times.”

A $22.5 million design contract for the modernization and renovation of the 32-year old Honolulu Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building was awarded in July to the architectural and engineering firm of Gensler Architects of San Francisco, in association with Clifford Planning, LLC, of Honolulu. 

Design work is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2010 and the courthouse renovation will begin shortly after.

Because of the size and the scope of the Honolulu federal building project, it qualifies for a project labor agreement allowing the work to be done by a unionized firm

A $5.3 million contract for the modernization and renovation of the Hilo Federal Building was awarded in July 24 to Constructors Hawaii, Inc., of Honolulu, a small business concern.   

Plans call for completing a seismic retrofit of the building, installing life-safety systems, repairing interior and exterior finishes, performing historic preservation work, ADA improvements and providing the building with a variety of other upgrades. 

Work is scheduled to begin in mid-August 2009 with completion scheduled in the Spring of 2011.