Video courtesy Department of Hawaiian Home Lands | Voice of Stephanie Salazar

WAIMEA, Hawaii: The community joined state officials in a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, to begin construction on what will become the future home for 83 Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries and their families in the second phase of the Lālāmilo subdivision in Waimea.

The Department of Hawaiian Homelands says Phase 2A, Increment 1 of Lālāmilo is located on nearly 35 acres of land along the South Kohala Distribution Road, approximately two miles makai of the Waimea town center. These residential lots will be offered to Hawaiian homes beneficiaries with applications dating as far back as 1965.

Infrastructure work includes mass grading, roadways, and installing drainage, wastewater and water systems, and other utilities. Total infrastructure cost for this second phase of the Lālāmilo subdivision is $11.27 million – work includes mass grading, roadways, drainage, and water systems. The bulk of the funding is Hawaiian Home Lands trust funds and Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act monies under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Telecommunications infrastructure is being financed by Sandwich Isles Communications, Inc.

The project also includes a park, an archeological preservation lot, and an HELCO Substation easement lot.

Construction will begin November 2012, and is expected to be complete by November 2013, with home construction to follow. Goodfellow Bros., Inc., is the contractor with SSFM International, Inc. providing construction management service, and Community Planning & Engineering, Inc., providing design consultant services.

Phase I of the Lālāmilo subdivision was completed in June 2011, and is currently home to 28 native Hawaiian ‘ohana.