State lists possibilities for a new OCCC location
- By Rosemarie Bernardo rbernardo@staradvertiser.com
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Nov. 22, 2016
Two Kalaeloa sites on a list of possible locations to rebuild the state’s largest correctional facility have raised community concerns because of the historical value of the parcels.
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Two Kalaeloa sites on a list of possible locations to rebuild the state’s largest correctional facility have raised community concerns because of the historical value of the parcels.
The state Department of Public Safety has identified 11 possible sites for a new Oahu Community Correctional Center.
| CELL SITES
The state Department of Public Safety has identified these 11 sites as possible locations for a new Oahu Community Correctional Center:
>> Kalihi: Rebuild facility at existing site
>> Aiea: Land adjacent to Halawa Correctional Facility
>> Aiea: Land near animal quarantine
>> Kalaeloa: Property along San Juacinto Street
>> Kalaeloa: Property at the intersection of San Juacinto Street and Coral Sea Road
>> Kalaeloa: Property bordered by Lexington Street and Saratoga Avenue
>> Kalaeloa: Property off of Roosevelt Avenue
>> Kalaeloa: Barbers Point Riding Club
>> Mililani: Lot at Mililani Technology Park off Wikao Street
>> Waiawa: Property off H-2 freeway
>> Waiawa: Property farther mauka of H-2 freeway
Source: State Department of Public Safety
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“Everyone knows we need to replace OCCC and this is the first step to a much-needed new facility,” Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda said in a news release.
The state identified the sites after the Legislature appropriated $5.4 million to study alternatives to what are now old, overcrowded buildings.
“This is just an initial selection of possible sites to consider,” said department spokeswoman Toni Schwartz. “In the coming weeks we are going to whittle it down.”
All sites will be “screened, scored and ranked” to determine which best meets the state’s criteria, which include the availability of 15 to 20 acres, access to electric power and a wastewater treatment system, and close proximity to highways and telecommunications networks.
The Public Safety Department plans to present a list of three or four possible sites to lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session.
Over the past several months, the department has looked into sites that have either been identified by the Legislature, previously studied, suggested by community members or offered by interested parties. Other state departments, the federal government and large property owners were part of the process, said Schwartz.
Local historian John Bond is concerned that one site in Kalaeloa, bordered by Roosevelt Avenue and Geiger Road, includes part of Ewa Field, a World War II installation listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
In addition, “There’s absolutely no infrastructure to support this at all,” Bond said.
Bond said the Navy owns the site. Bill Doughty, deputy director of public affairs of the Navy Region Hawaii, said the command is working to verify the property owner.
Another possible site in Kalaeloa owned by the Navy is occupied by the Barbers Point stables. Though the site is outside of the airfield, advocates are working to have the site listed on the national register. Thirty-four concrete revetments on the property were built in the early 1940s for warplanes.
Valerie Van der Veer, president of the Barbers Point Riding Club, obtained a $63,000 grant last summer for a study on the revetments.
There are 75 revetments, a majority of which are on land the Navy turned over to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Espinda told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser earlier this year that OCCC is “severely overcrowded.” As of Nov. 14 the jail had a population of 1,185 inmates in space designed for 954. Inmates housed there are pretrial detainees or are serving short sentences.
The state has owned the 16-acre property at 2199 Kamehameha Highway since 1914. The original structure was demolished and rebuilt. The department expanded the facility several decades ago.
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