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Hawai’i dedicates ground for new Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.
by Daniel de Castro –
Kahu Kordell Kekoa (center) is shown with Major Dave Hudson and Commissioner Philip Swyers at the site where the Kroc Center in Kapolei, O’ahu, will be. Kekoa performed a traditional Hawaiian ground blessing ceremony.
Representatives from The Salvation Army, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), the private sector and city and state government attended a ground blessing ceremony for the proposed Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Leeward, O’ahu, on May 12. The new Kroc Center will be located on 15 acres in Kapolei. When completed, the 100,000 square foot community center will be the largest facility of its kind in the state and will provide seven separate centers offering convenient access to services for the residents of West O’ahu.
“Today marks the realization of a remarkable dream that will benefit so many families on O’ahu,” said Major Dave Hudson, divisional commander. “It is also an auspicious day that marks the start of Salvation Army Week Hawai’i as part of the national celebration.
In conjunction with this ceremony, DHHL also held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new East-West Road in Kapolei. The East-West Road will be the main access to the Kroc Center and will serve as the corridor to new schools, churches, parks and housing in the area.
“The East-West Road is more than just a road,” said Micah A. Kane, director of DHHL. “It’s a path to a better life, whether it is to the Kroc Community Center, affordable housing, new schools or the University of Hawaii’s O’ahu campus.”
Together, the two projects will pave the way for hope and opportunities for generations to come. Major elements of the Kroc campus will include two swimming pools, a multi-purpose gymnasium and fitness center, a worship and performing arts theatre, support service offices, an education and training center, athletic fields and a 150-student pre-school. The center is strategically located within a 10-mile radius of 25 public schools.
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is the state’s largest affordable housing developer with communities on every island. With the purpose of rehabilitating native Hawaiians, the DHHL vision of master-planned communities is emerging in East Kapolei, and the Kroc Center is an integral part of improving the quality of life, not only for native Hawaiians, but for everyone on the leeward coast.