Hawaiian Humane Society breaks ground in West Oahu

The Hawaiian Humane Society on Wednesday morning held a groundbreaking celebration and blessing for a second campus in Ewa Beach intended to serve the West Oahu community.

Construction of the new campus is planned at an estimated cost of $28 million on 5.5 acres within the Hoopili master plan at Fort Weaver and Old Fort Weaver roads. Completion is expected by the end of 2022, with doors opening by early 2023.

“As we work toward creating a truly humane community based on compassion and shared responsibility for the welfare of our island’s animals, we envision a community in which every pet has a home; a community in which people highly regard and care for their own animals and all animals on Oahu,” said HHS President and CEO Anna Neubauer in a news release. “Our Ewa Expansion will help us bring much-needed services and resources to an underserved part of the island.”

The new campus will be about two times larger than the current one in Moiliili, with a main two-story building that will offer a full range of core services including adoptions, animal admissions, veterinary care, and spay and neuter surgeries.

It will include an adoptions lanai, a classrooms space, a retail shop and a dedicated area for volunteers to store their belongings.

It will also offer three dog pavilions, two cat pavilions, a small animal pavilion and two gazebos, among other features — and a community dog park open to the public.

More than 60% of West Oahu residents currently have pets, according to HHS spokesman Daniel Roselle, with that number expected to increase over time.

“Additionally, the Moiliili campus is difficult to access for a large percentage of Oahu’s population who live in West Oahu and other areas outside of Honolulu’s urban core,” said Roselle in an email. “Community members who may need HHS serv­ices currently find it too inconvenient or are simply unable to access them. This second campus will meet growing demands and changing needs of the community in West Oahu.”

Developer D.R. Horton donated the land to the Hawaiian Humane Society in 2017.

It is a relatively flat parcel that is largely undeveloped and heavily overgrown with dry brush and fallow rows of taro crops, according to an environmental report.

In previous years it had been used by Fat Law’s Farm to cultivate a variety of vegetables and taro until about 2015, when operations ceased in anticipation of the proposed Hoopili master plan.

The campus will be bordered by Fort Weaver Road to the east and Old Fort Weaver Road to the north.

The project has been a long time coming, according to Roselle, and there have been numerous fundraising efforts, some of them still ongoing, to make it a reality.

When done, the West Oahu campus is expected to accommodate the needs of approximately half of the island population. The Moiliili campus at 2700 Waialae Ave., meanwhile, will continue to house the nonprofit’s administrative functions.

“We think there’s a whole untapped community,” he said. “The goal is to provide not just admissions, but a community service and resources.”

In March, the society opened a satellite location inside of the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu to serve the leeward side.

The Pet Kokua Outreach Center offers pet food bank services, information on reduced or free spay-and-neuter services, as well as other advice, from Sundays to Thursdays.

Roselle said the outreach center will remain open until the West Oahu campus opens.

The Hawaiian Humane Society, founded in 1883, also investigates animal cruelty and neglect cases, advocates for animal welfare laws, and offers outreach and education services, including a pet loss support group.

Roselle said many animals were adopted during the pandemic, including cats, which have benefited from community partnerships. At the same time, there was an increased demand for the pet foot bank and a great need to expand its emergency foster program.

“So far, we’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “Pandemic notwithstanding, the need is so great for the community, it doesn’t make sense to wait any longer. We’re really excited about it.”

In addition, Roselle said the society will be looking to hire additional staff for the West Oahu campus when it opens.