The new $42 million Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex dedication Friday came after years of waiting for funding, followed by more years of construction. Dignitaries and judicial officials gathered in the afternoon at the 112,000 square feet state-of-art complex to tour what’s
The new $42 million Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex dedication Friday came after years of waiting for funding, followed by more years of construction.
Dignitaries and judicial officials gathered in the afternoon at the 112,000 square feet state-of-art complex to tour what’s now likely the largest government building on Kaua‘i, and to attend an elaborate dedication ceremony.
The center’s name — Pu‘uhonua Kaulike ( The Sanctuary of Justice) — was unveiled, too, and credited to Lianne Parongao, who is a Senior Probation Officer for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court.
The building sits on a 6.5-acre parcel along Kapule Highway, mauka of Lihu‘e Airport, near the Kaua‘i Veterans Center. About 100 employees are to move into the complex over the next two weeks.
One wing houses administrative functions and court-user services, another wing six technologically-enhanced courtrooms and judicial chambers. The center has 240 parking spaces, compared to a few dozen in and around the current court area in Lihu‘e, and its security is more up-to-date than any other state court building in Hawai‘i.
The general contractor for the project was Unlimited Construction Services, Inc. of Kaua‘i. The complex was designed by Honolulu-based Anbe, Aruga & Ishizu Architects, the firm that also designed the Kauikeaouli Hale court building in downtown Honolulu in the late 1970s. Pu‘uhonua Kaulike is the second major state judiciary facility to be constructed in Hawai‘i since the mid-1980s.
The building is equipped with the latest in security technology equipment.
Chief Court Administrator for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Steve Okihara began the formal ceremony.
“The dedication of the Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex signifies the change from tight quarters to the ideal conditions, conditions which will be able to better serve justice on Kaua‘i,” Okihara said, referring to the mission style state court house on Umi Street in Lihu‘e that has housed Kaua‘i’s courts since the late 1930s.
In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century a courthouse stood on the site of today’s Kaua‘i High School in Lihu‘e just above Nawiliwili Harbor.
Master of Ceremonies, Ernest Barreira, Deputy Chief Court Administrator, Fifth Judicial Circuit, said, “the blessing of the Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter. The Complex will meet all of Kaua‘i’s justice needs for years to come. It is a great change from where we used to be located.”
“We operated from a facility which had been obsolete for 20 years,” Barreira said. “Although the Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex is a wonder to look at from the outside, the true value and precedence of the facility is inside. It being the most technological advanced Judicial facility in Hawai‘i is its true prestige.”
Attending the ceremony were Judge Ronald T.Y. Moon, Chief Justice, Hawai‘i State Supreme Court and Judge George M. Masuoka, Chief Judge, Fifth Judicial Circuit.
“George had been fighting so long to acquire the funds for the Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex to be built,” Moon said. “I even remember what he said to me, he said ‘Ronald, I don’t think I’ll even be alive when we finally get the funding to build this Complex.’ Well ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the living dead.”
“It’s been a long time coming, but we finally were granted $36 billion from the legislature, funding which we are deeply appreciative of,” Moon said.
Masuoka commented on the complex’s architecture, which has some similarity to an up-scale resort hotel.
“During the process of asking the legislature for funding for the complex, I remember that they told me to make sure that it did not look like a fancy hotel,” he said. “However, when I took my wife driving to see the building, when we passed by, the first thing that she said was ‘Wow! It looks exactly like a fancy hotel!'”
“The Complex building is impressive and well as functional,” Masuoka said. “And after two years of construction and a great deal of delegating, it is finally a reality. It was getting difficult having to share the Lihu‘e Courthouse among four judges.”
A mural made up of over half a million tiny glass mosaic tiles depicts a waterfall and titled “Kanawai” is the exterior centerpiece of the complex. It was provided by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture & the Arts and created by Kaua‘i artist Carol Bennett.
“I wanted for Kanawai to be two things; iconic, a piece of art that would be beautiful and evoke thought; and a functional piece that would not compete with the architecture of the complex,” Bennett said.
The new court house opens to the public on Monday, August 22, Meanwhile, occupants of the Kaua‘i Judiciary Complex are in the process of relocating from buildings spread across Lihu‘e.
- Taren Fujimoto is an editorial assistant with The Garden Island.
