UH Hilo’s Hale ‘Alahonua fees could drop

Dorm fees could plummet at a fairly new but underused residence hall at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Hale ‘Alahonua, a 300-bed, suite-style dormitory, has remained at less than 60 percent occupancy since opening in 2013. Currently it’s at about 50 percent capacity, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

So UH-Hilo officials are proposing slashing the fees by 18 percent next fall, in hopes of boosting occupancy and generating funds to pay back bond debt.

Many students have complained the dorm is too expensive: $3,859 per semester, the priciest campus housing option.

As a result of low occupancy, UH Hilo has dipped into reserve funds to pay off a 30-year, $17 million revenue bond used to help finance the $28 million dorm when it was built. Those reserve funding payments have amounted to a little more than $400,000 annually since 2015.

Administrators last week presented a three-year rate restructuring proposal that would cut the yearly cost to live in Hale ‘Alahonua by more than $1,400 — putting it about $300 cheaper per year than one-bedroom double rooms in Hale Ikena, a popular apartment-style dorm and the next-priciest on-campus housing option.

The plan will go up for vote by the Board of Regents June 1. If approved, it would raise Hale Ikena’s prices by 5 percent in the fall.