FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                  May 3, 2010

Release No. M-15-10

MAYOR BREAKS GROUND ON NEW WAHIAWA TRANSIT CENTER

(Mon., May 3, 2010)—Mayor Mufi Hannemann today broke ground on the new Wahiawa Transit Center and Park and Ride Facility, which will serve as a public transportation hub for Wahiawa and surrounding communities. Three additional Transit Centers have been built during Hannemann’s tenure as mayor.

            “You deserve this,” Hannemann told Wahiawa community leaders and residents who joined him for a blessing and groundbreaking ceremony at the site today. “Today is your day. You’ll be traveling to great places, far and away.”

            The two-story structure will be located in the heart of Wahiawa, on California Avenue near Cane Street, across from Wahiawa Town Center. Wahiawa General Hospital is also located approximately one block away.

The Transit Center will include bus bays, a passenger waiting area, restrooms, an elevator and other amenities. Buses will load and unload passengers on the ground floor, and passengers may park on the second level, which will include 58 parking stalls. The $7 million facility has been designed to accommodate up to three additional levels in the future to serve nearby State facilities. The City and the federal government are financing the project.

The structure will feature a clock tower and a large pineapple motif, in recognition of Wahiawa’s history as a center of pineapple production.

The City is leasing the site from the state Department of Accounting and General Services. On hand for today’s groundbreaking were state Senator Robert Bunda, state Representative Marcus Oshiro, and City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz, all of whom represent the Wahiawa area; along with City Managing Director Kirk Caldwell, City Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka, Neighborhood Board members, and other City and State officials.

            Hannemann thanked each of them for their support and close cooperation on the project, and thanked the community for its patience and dedication. “Without all of you, this project could not have moved forward,” he said.

Reverend Kevin Kuniyuki of Wahiawa Hongwanji Mission blessed the site, and Hannemann and other leaders performed a symbolic groundbreaking. The Transit Center was designed by AM Partners, and will be constructed by Honolulu Builders.

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Media contact: Bill Brennan, Mayor’s Office, 768-6928