A new student center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa will cost $16 million more than expected and open about a year later than first scheduled, and officials say inflation and pandemic-related delays are to blame.

The renovation of the former Sinclair Library to transform the 1956-vintage building into the newly branded Student Success Center originally was funded for $41 million by the Legislature in 2019 and had been slated to open to students for the fall 2024 semester.

The price tag now is $57 million, and with construction starting this month, the opening is now expected in fall 2025.

“$41 million does not go as far as it did when it was first appropriated, with the rising cost of construction and inflation,” said UH spokesperson Dan Meisenzahl.

Such laments have been common across the nation. U.S. construction supply costs rose 20% from May 2021 to April 2022, worsened by supply chain issues, labor shortages and more, resulting in the highest rates in 40 years, according to a report by the Associated General Contractors of America. While construction inflation has since slowed, high costs linger.

Other UH projects also will see the effects of inflation that has “impacted us across the board, along with the rest of the state and nation,” Meisenzahl said.

The Student Success Center’s tab has increased also as refinements were made to the design, which now includes accommodations for UH’s nationally recognized esports team and a large study space that can host livestreamed events with an in-person audience, he said.

The Student Success Center is a design-build project, where the idea is to have a fixed sum along with a single contract for the design and construction. “Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process,” according to a UH announcement on the project issued Friday.

“We need to demonstrate to the state of Hawaii that every dollar invested in UH will be spent efficiently and effectively,” UH Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia said in the announcement. “We thank the state Legislature and the governor’s office for its support and know that we have to continue to prove that university projects are worth funding.”

When asked how the cost increase has been approved and covered, Meisenzahl said the university’s “renew, improve and modernize” lump-sum budget provides flexibility. The UH Office of Project Delivery makes such decisions in consultation with and with approval from UH leadership, he said.

The project’s timeline was pushed back due in part to the pandemic’s delaying the request-for-proposals process, he added. After a competitive bid process, Swinerton Builders was announced as design-builder in August.

The 115,000-square-foot Student Success Center is part of a broader capital improvement projects plan approved by the UH Board of Regents in 2016. The former Sinclair Library closed as a library service in 2019 after its staff and materials were moved across campus to Hamilton Library.

The Student Success Center will offer innovative serv­ices and amenities and become “a vibrant hub of student activity that will encourage students to stay on campus, between classes and after hours,” the UH announcement said.

Several national studies have suggested that commuter students tend to be less satisfied with their college experience than students who experience a robust campus life by residing on or adjacent to campus. College campuses nationwide typically are about 80% commuter students; at UH Manoa “most students commute in one form or another,” Meisenzahl said.

The Student Success Center will offer students three floors of air-conditioned space “for student gathering, studying and socializing, with comfortable seating, tables and ample electrical outlets,” the announcement said. “There will also be more than 30 conference rooms of various sizes for group study, along with on-site academic advising departments, a computer lab and Student Store for food and beverages.”

The center will house the College of Social Sciences Digital Studios and will provide a gaming room for the esports team as well as facilities for casual gaming open to all students.

The project includes a rooftop photovoltaic system to generate renewable energy and strives to become LEED Silver-certified — a step toward the 10-campus UH system’s goal of zero carbon emissions by 2035.

UH Manoa Provost Michael Bruno said in the announcement that the center is state-of-the-art and will “have a significant impact on the student experience at UH Manoa. … It will be very exciting when it opens, as students will have a brand new facility where they can study, collaborate, learn from one another, take advantage of convenient academic services, grab a coffee and just be with each other.”