The University of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Project Delivery, in collaboration with UH Community Colleges, UH West Oʻahu and UH Hilo, is leading capital improvement projects (CIPs) that are transforming all 10 campuses across the state.

From new construction to critical renovations, these projects modernize facilities, improve energy efficiency and enhance the student experience. Guided by the six-year CIP plan approved by the Board of Regents (BOR) in 2022, more than 70 projects totaling more than $220 million have been completed or launched since 2023 (as of November 2025).

Watch the 2025 video of the progress being made on the projects identified in the plan that support learning, innovation and sustainability across all 10 campuses. The new video follows a 2022 video highlighting the achievements of the university’s first six-year capital improvement plan approved by the BOR in 2016.

Highlights covered in the 2025 video include:

• $26-million renovation of Bachman Hall completed in 2024
• $62-million Student Success Center opening in 2026
• $105-million transformation of McCarthy Mall and Paradise Palms now underway
• $6.5-million renovation of UH Hilo’s Campus Center
• Phase 2 of Kapiʻolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head set to open in 2026
• Leeward CC’s Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center opened in 2024

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumna Kiana Yamat is back at her alma mater. This time, the College of Engineering graduate and Miss Hawaiʻi USA 2022 is serving as a project engineer for the construction transformation at the heart of the Mānoa campus.

Yamat runs the office team for Hensel Phelps, the construction company in charge of the Mānoa Mini Master Plan.

She plays a key role managing contracts, ordering materials and handling finances in order to make these major upgrades to McCarthy Mall possible.

“It’s surreal and it’s an honor,” said Yamat. “Using the talent and experience gained from school, we are building something that impacts more than just the campus itself.”

Giving back for future generations

A major part of the project is the construction of a modern building for interdisciplinary learning, which will replace Snyder Hall as the home of the College of Education.

Being a part of this opportunity is especially meaningful to Yamat, whose mother is a retired public school teacher with a special education background.

“Knowing that there are people like my mom that will one day influence the whole community, thatʻs a big deal,” said Yamat.

Paving her path

During her time at UH Mānoa, Yamat was grateful for the many resources and partnering programs that the College of Engineering had to offer. It was through the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UH Mānoa student chapter, which she was president of, that Yamat landed her current engineering role.

When Hensel Phelps presented to ASCE at one of their club meetings, it opened her eyes to civil engineering, a path she had not previously considered. Yamat connected with UH alumni at Hensel Phelps, who encouraged her to join the team.

Now, Yamat is on the other end, inspiring future engineers. Her company continues to partner with the ASCE student chapter.

“I want students to realize that no job is too small to be impactful,” said Yamat. “From the interns that we have on site all the way to the higher-ups, all of us are a piece of shaping something the public gets to see.”

—By Josslyn Rose

The University of Hawaiʻi will break ground on a major capital improvement project in early 2025 to transform the heart of the UH Mānoa campus.

The project on McCarthy Mall has two phases: 1) the construction of a modern, five-story building for interdisciplinary learning and 2) significant upgrades to the iconic tree-lined mall and the Paradise Palms Food Court. It is tentatively scheduled for completion by the fall of 2027.

“This is one of the most transformational projects for the UH Mānoa campus in decades,” said UH President David Lassner.

“The new academic building will provide modern educational facilities and bring our vibrant College of Education together with collaborators and resources in other schools and colleges. And the project will fully activate McCarthy Mall as a place to actively engage rather than just transit between buildings.”

• Watch a “fly-through” of the planned McCarthy Mall transformation
• Watch a “fly-through” of the planned Interdisciplinary building

Interdisciplinary Learning Facility

The planned five-story, 77,575-square-foot facility is located on the ma uka (mountainside) of McCarthy Mall, where Snyder Hall once stood, and will be connected to Edmondson Hall. The first two floors will feature 13 small classrooms, two medium classrooms, and one large classroom, available for all UH Mānoa departments, colleges and schools.

“The goal is to create spaces that foster community, learning and collaboration,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. ”The modern classrooms and expanded outdoor areas will offer students and faculty comfortable, engaging environments.”

The top three floors will house modern, collaborative office spaces and conference rooms. The College of Education (COE) will occupy the third and fourth floors, and about half of the second floor. The College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) will be on the fifth floor.

“The faculty and staff were asked to participate in the design of the work spaces, which meant a lot to everyone involved,” said CALL Dean Peter Arnade. “It has been a true collaborative effort for a facility built for collaboration.”

COE will relocate from its current location at the corner of University Avenue and Metcalf Street, across from the main campus.

“I commend our faculty and staff for embracing this move because it will be great for our college and the students we serve,” said COE Dean Nathan Murata. “It is going to be so much more convenient for our students and their access to campus resources.”

McCarthy Mall, Paradise Palm upgrades

Improvements to McCarthy Mall include widened walkways, lots of additional seating, electrical outlets, and enhanced lighting. The shaded area under the Monkeypod trees will accommodate more than 500 students with more seating options—benches, tables with umbrellas, and tablet-arm chairs, creating a more inviting and comfortable space for students to gather and study.

The Paradise Palms Food Court renovation will add a larger entrance facing McCarthy Mall with a 75-by-70-foot photovoltaic glass canopy. The canopy will provide natural light and generate renewable energy while also creating more outdoor space for students with high stools, tables, and outlets for up to 200 people.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature for their unwavering support of this groundbreaking project,” said UH Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “Their commitment to higher education is making it possible to create modern, collaborative spaces that will enhance the learning experience for our students and faculty alike. This project will help shape the future of UH Mānoa and cultivate a vibrant, innovative campus for generations to come.”

Part of the plan

This project is the latest in a series of major construction projects that are improving campus life. Other projects include the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building (completed 2020), the live-learn-work Walter Dods, Jr. facility (completed 2023), the renovation of Sinclair Library into a modern Student Success Center (opening fall 2025) and the Hale Haukani graduate students and faculty housing facility (opening fall 2025).

“We developed ambitious, long-range plans for the campus that were approved by the Board of Regents and we are systematically and successfully executing those plans,” said Lassner. “We have embraced and integrated new approaches including design-build methodology for construction projects and public-private partnerships (P3) to increase availability of housing.”

Lassner said those responsible for the successes including Gouveia and her team that spearheaded UH planning and construction, VP for Budget & Finance and CFO Kalbert Young and his team that learned to implement P3 to do more than what was possible with the limited public funding available to us, and Provost Michael Bruno and the Mānoa leadership team that changed the way the academic community views campus spaces.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support we received from the Legislature, the Governor and the Board of Regents, who trusted us and believed we could be transformational in our thinking and approach,” said Lassner.

The McCarthy Mall project and the new Student Success Center are the second phase of the UH Mānoa Mini Master Plan and part of the campus’s Long Range Development Plan, updated in 2020, and successive 6-year CIP plans, with the last one approved in 2022. The first phase included the demolition of Henke and Snyder Halls and the construction of the Abbott Life Sciences Building. The third phase, which still needs to be funded, includes either renovating or replacing Kuykendall Hall.

Design-build team

The Hensel Phelps design-build team was selected for the McCarthy Mall project with architectural and sustainable design led by Hawaiʻi-based KYA Inc. and global design firm Perkins & Will. The project integrates advanced LEED Silver standards for sustainability and energy efficiency, reinforcing UH Mānoa’s commitment to environmentally conscious development.

“The new design not only enhances functionality of educational and work spaces, it also reflects UH Mānoa’s vision of a sustainable, collaborative campus that brings students, faculty and the wider university community together,” said Peter Mercuris, Hensel Phelps Design Manager. “We are proud to partner with UH Mānoa on this transformative project, which enhances functionality.”

The Office of Project Delivery oversees the project and ensures it finishes on time and within budget. Design-build projects—where there is a fixed sum, single contract for the design and construction—are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns than typical design-bid-build projects. It is one of the many industry best practices adopted by UH about a decade ago.

In an ongoing commitment to cultivate innovation and enrich the student experience, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is unveiling a new classroom in spring 2024 located in Dean Hall 104. Following in the footsteps of the Sakamaki Hall Innovation Zone, this new Dean 104 Culture Lab offers a teaching and learning space uniquely designed for diverse, innovative, culturally based courses taught across all disciplines at UH Mānoa.

Designed to accommodate 25 students, the de-centered classroom introduces multiple points of focus, fostering an inclusive and engaging learning environment. Located adjacent to Campus Center on the historic quad, faculty who are interested in submitting a brief proposal to teach in the Culture Lab for a spring 2024 course can visit this website.

More on the Sakamaki Hall Innovation Zone

“The newly designed culture lab offers the opportunity to align UH’s unique place with its classroom space,” said UH Vice President for Academic Strategy Debora Halbert. “Intentionally designed spaces can elevate the learning experience and facilitate innovative instructional methods. This particular classroom is an excellent example of such innovation and design.”

Dynamic space

Dean 104 Culture Lab features furniture that can be easily rearranged and repurposed, providing flexibility for multiple seating options. The space is tailored to accommodate performance activities associated with cultural practices and knowledge, such as music, dance, drama and storytelling. Collaborative endeavors, such as food sharing, are made possible by incorporating a countertop, cabinets and sink.

The space boasts multiple whiteboards and sliding, translucent writing surfaces. Windows located throughout the room allows for a lot of natural daylight, minimizing reliance on electricity and promoting sustainability. Included in the space is a OneScreen smart touchscreen, and “Bring Your Own Device” technology is supported by available charging towers throughout the lab.

“It is really important that a Center for Teaching Excellence is involved in creating spaces where faculty are eager to try out new practices for teaching and learning,” said Kathie Kane, director of the UH Mānoa Center for Teaching Excellence. “Providing a space that can accommodate these innovative practices is our way of supporting them.”

Drawing inspiration from Mānoa Valley

GD Design Hawaiʻi architect Glenn Yokotake drew inspiration from the rich history of Mānoa Valley, particularly focusing on the significance of agriculture and farming in the region. Historical photos of the valley informed his design, depicting the patchwork of various farm lots, which is translated onto the floor of the culture lab with three carpets blending into each other.

The original alignment of Mānoa Stream, which once passed directly through the modern-day UH Mānoa campus, serves as a central theme. Light blue dots on the ceiling and baffles (used to reduce sound) trace the historical stream’s path, with yellow baffles symbolizing its flow, and a large yellow pendant light representing the Mānoa campus.

A feature wall displays a vertical wood grille finish, a symbolic representation of Mānoa Valley’s forests. The grille incorporates different types of wood finishing, exhibiting the diverse tree species in the valley.

The Culture Lab is a continuation of UH Mānoa’s commitment to advancing education through innovative design, technology integration, and a deep appreciation for the rich history and natural beauty of Mānoa Valley.

“When we are able to renovate classrooms not only do we increase our capacity for face-to-face learning by having more classrooms available, but we also have the opportunity to rethink how the design of a classroom can influence the success of student learners,” said Halbert.

A $57-million renovation of a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa library built in 1956 will transform the four-story, 115,000-square-foot building into a state-of-the-art Student Success Center. Work on the major renovation project began in June 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The Student Success Center will be a vibrant hub of student activity that will encourage students to stay on campus, between classes and after hours. Three floors of the air conditioned building will be open space for student gathering, studying and socializing with comfortable seating, tables and ample electrical outlets. 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.

“This state-of-the-art center will have a significant impact on the student experience at UH Mānoa,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno, an early champion of the project. “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.”

The Student Success Center will be located next to Hemenway Hall, close to the Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center. It is also next to the campus’s main city bus stop and right across University Avenue from the Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurship center/student housing facility opening in fall 2023.

“We really want to create an environment and a place where students can thrive, and I think that’s really what is most important for us in this collaboration,” said Aaron Yamasaki, vice president division manager at Swinerton Builders, the Design Builder. “This is Hawaiʻi’s university and we want to make this great school even better and this project will do just that.”

The project includes a rooftop photovoltaic system to generate renewable energy and help as the renovation project strives to be LEED Silver certified. A modest step towards meeting the 10-campus systemʻs goal of zero carbon emissions by 2035.

The center will house the College of Social Sciences Digital Studios and feature a large study space on the first floor that can host and livestream campus events.

It will also be the new home of the award winning UH Mānoa Esports team. The team will have a modern gaming room to practice, compete and livestream competitions to the world. There will also be facilities for casual gaming available to all students.

Mahalo UH Mānoa Library

The building became available for the renovation project after the UH Mānoa Library agreed to relocate staff and materials in the now closed Sinclair Library to Hamilton Library.

“They embraced the challenge and worked with multiple academic units reviewing and assessing the materials,” said Bruno about the library’s leadership and staff. “We could not have done this without their cooperation.”

Building on success

The UH Office of Project Delivery is responsible for the project and for making sure it finishes on time and on budget. The office oversees Capital Improvement Projects large and small, including the Isabella Aiona Abbott Life Sciences Building that opened in 2020 and the expansion of the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

“A center for students was identified as one of the campus’s biggest needs and now it is our responsibility to turn that idea into a reality,” said Brandon Shima, Design Manager for the Office of Project Delivery.

Like the Abbott Life Sciences Building, the Student Success Center is a design-build project, where there is a fixed sum, 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. It is one of the many national best practices for capital improvement projects adopted by UH along with hiring highly qualified project managers and construction procurement specialists.

Read more about the UH Mānoa RISE center.
To apply, visit the RISE website.

“We need to demonstrate to the State of Hawaiʻi that every dollar invested in UH will be spent efficiently and effectively,” said UH Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “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.”

Following the 6-year CIP plan

The Abbott Life Sciences Building and the Student Success Center were among the goals in the 2016 6-year CIP plan approved by the UH Board of Regents. The plan continues to deliver on many of its stated goals including a new $70-million, five-story facility planned for McCarthy Mall. The building will feature modern classroom and work spaces with construction scheduled to begin in 2024. The BOR approved a new 6-year CIP plan in November 2022 that aims to build on the previous plan and create more modern space-efficient facilities and outdoor spaces that leverage UH Mānoa’s unique sense of place.

Read more about the Sinclair student success center in UH News

More than 350 guests gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the $37-million Academy for Creative Media (ACM) Student Production Center at the University of Hawaiʻi––West Oʻahu on November 18.

“It’s a fabulous, state-of-the-art-capacity building that will really teach the future to our students,” said Chris Lee, founder and director of the Academy for Creative Media System. “This is really the hub for creative media education throughout the ACM System.”

Related: New state-of-the-art Academy for Creative Media facility ready for students, August 2022

The facility will link complementary facilities and programs throughout the UH System and across the state as a catalyst for Hawaiʻi’s intellectual property workforce. The facility features industry-standard equipment, including a Dolby Atmos 100-seat screening room and mixing stage, esports arena, post-production suites, emerging media lab, incubator space and industry-standard sound stage.

Creative media is fastest-growing degree program

The building aligns with the UH West Oʻahu’s fastest-growing degree program—the bachelor of arts in creative media. The program embraces new media through video, animation, video games, social media platforms, apps and virtual and augmented reality. The degree has concentrations in communications and new media technology, design and media, video game design and development and general creative media.

The Student Production Center is designed to stimulate Hawaiʻi’s production and creative media ecosystem, including the state’s growing film and television production industry. Hawaiʻi’s creative sector, which includes the film, music, digital media and arts industries, accounts for nearly 54,000 jobs across the state.

The new building serves as a connector between academic programming across the UH System and the delivery of hands-on experiences that will prepare students for jobs in motion pictures, video production, design and social media, as well as digital content creation, video game design and development, and the integration of storytelling and technology.

“This building means a lot,” said Joseph Baldueza, who received his bachelor’s degree from UH West Oʻahu in spring 2020, with a concentration in general creative media. “This program means a lot. It always had awesome instructors, a really good and challenging curriculum. Now it has a facility and the equipment to support what we already had.” Baldueza is now a production manager at Marine Corps Community Services Hawaiʻi.

Dignitaries and celebrities attend

At the grand opening and blessing ceremony, dignitaries, students, faculty, administrators, industry professionals, celebrities and supporters enjoyed opening music by UH West Oʻahu students, MW Restaurant fare and photo opportunities throughout self-guided tours of the facility.

Program speakers included Gov. David Ige, Lee, UH President David Lassner and UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Maenette Benham.

“It’s about giving our students the best opportunity that we can to chase their digital dreams, and we wanted to make sure that they had a world-class facility so that they would pursue anything and everything their dreams could come up with,” Ige said.

The program concluded with a celebrity panel discussion on “Representation in the Film Industry,” featuring Mark Dacascos, Hawaiʻi-born actor, director, TV personality; Bird Runningwater, Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Tribes, who guided the Sundance Institute’s investment in Native American and Indigenous filmmakers; Amy Hill, Japanese-American actress; Malaysian comedian and actor Ronny Chieng; and Filipina-American actress and singer Kimee Balmilero.

The panelists shared insights on the importance of diverse voices in the film industry.

“It’s so important for this space (of diversity) to be in existence and for us to just keep telling our stories because there is a huge, huge shift happening and it’s really, really exciting,” Balmilero said.

To see photos from the event, visit the Grand Opening of the Academy for Creative Media Student Production Center album on Flickr.

For more to go to Ka Puna O Kaloʻi.

—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman

New architectural renderings provide a glimpse of the $53-million student success center on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus that will further enrich the student life experience. The Swinerton/G70 design-build team has been awarded the contract to renovate Gregg M. Sinclair Library and transform it into a state-of-the-art center with modern, comfortable spaces for individual and group study along with on-site student support services and academic advising. Work on the four-story, 115,000-square-foot, 66-year-old building is tentatively scheduled to begin in summer 2023 and completed in fall 2024.

Located next to Hemenway Hall, Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center, the student success center is projected to be a vibrant hub of student activity and interaction that will encourage students to remain on campus between classes and after hours.

• Read more about the Sinclair student success center in UH News

The design-build project was funded by the state Legislature and is part of the UH Mānoa Campus Framework and Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) from 2020 that has been incorporated into the UH Mānoa Framework for the Future, a commitment—informed by regularly updated data—that campus projects represent UH Mānoa’s core values as identified in the Mānoa Strategic Plan (PDF).

Design-build is a national best practice adopted by the UH Office of Project Delivery where there is a single contract for the design and construction with a fixed lump sum cost. Design-build projects are more likely to be completed on time and with fewer cost overruns, compared to the typical design-bid-build process.

The university system’s first major design-build project, the UH Mānoa Life Sciences Building completed in 2020, was honored in May 2022 with a Kukulu Hale Award for nonprofit project.

A $41 million University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa transformation project to revamp Sinclair Library into a state-of-the-art student success center is closer to becoming reality. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2024, with construction set to begin by the end of 2022.

UH officials will shortlist three design-build project finalists by the end of November and award the contract to the best value team in March 2022. By winter 2022, current Sinclair Library occupants will be relocated around campus to allow construction to begin. The center is expected to be open for use by fall 2024. Funding for the student success center was approved in the 2019–20 fiscal year.

When completed, the center will enhance the student experience by creating a vibrant hub of modern, comfortable spaces that encourages students to remain on campus between classes and after hours for individual study, group study, academic advising and tutoring, other campus services and much more.

Sinclair Library, adjacent to Hemenway Hall, Campus Center and the Warrior Recreation Center, is a prime location for the modernized center, delivering the type of space needed to keep UH Mānoa competitive with other universities.

Related UH News stories:

• Sinclair Library transitioning into student success center, January 21, 2020
• Funding approved to transform Sinclair into student success center, April 30, 2019
• Sinclair Library to become center for student success, January 30, 2019

This work is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of Enhancing Student Success (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.