WAHIAWĀ – State and local leaders gathered to break ground on a new education and community facility in Wahiawā that will serve as the future home of the Wahiawā Public Library, University of Hawaiʻi Community College (UHCC) satellite classrooms, and Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) offices.

The $42.5 million, 43,000-square-foot facility — known as the Wahiawā Center for Workforce Excellence — will bring together educational services, workforce development and community spaces under one roof. Construction is expected to take two years and includes a multi-level parking structure.

“The goal is clear — a space that is central that brings together education and public service,” said Gov. Josh Green, M.D., who was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony along with Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz, Senate Vice President and Education Chair Michelle Kidani, area lawmakers including Rep. Amy Perruso and Honolulu City Councilmember Matt Weyer, HIDOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi, UH President Wendy Hensel and Hawaiʻi State Librarian Stacey Aldrich. 

Green thanked Sen. Dela Cruz, who championed the project, as well as Sen. Kidani for her support. “This becomes our hub — it’s our innovation center, it’s where people will gain skills and it’s not even just for the students… it’s where our families can come together in a community.”

The new three-story building will include:

• A modern Wahiawā Public Library on the first floor with meeting rooms, classrooms and flexible community spaces.
• Consolidated HIDOE administrative offices for the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area on the second floor, supporting 20 Central Oʻahu schools with centralized services and training areas.
• UH Community College satellite classrooms on the third floor, including computer labs and a sensory lab designed to integrate with other UH facilities.

Superintendent Hayashi said the project represents a shared commitment to lifelong learning.

“Life-long education is at the heart of this vital addition to our Central Oʻahu community and the Hawaiʻi Department of Education is proud to partner with the University of Hawaiʻi and our Hawaiʻi Public Libraries,” Hayashi said. “This facility will inspire and empower learners of all ages — from curious kindergarteners to K-12 and university students to adults — in one central, dynamic education hub that will provide resources to spark imagination and create new career possibilities close to home.”

UH President Hensel highlighted the power of partnership.

“[The building] reflects what the University of Hawai‘i is about — and that’s about partnership and integration and intersections in our community,” Hensel said. “This center for workforce excellence is a shining example of what’s possible when we work together… The closer we are, the better we synergize, the more impactful our efforts become… Here’s to committing to our communities through education and partnership and building a more prosperous future for all of us.”

In addition to serving students and families directly, the project also links key workforce and economic development efforts in Central Oʻahu — including Leeward Community College’s Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, the Central Oʻahu Agriculture & Food Hub in Whitmore Village, and Leilehua High School. HIDOE’s vacated district office space will be repurposed to give the HIDOE High Core Program a permanent home for students from Central Oʻahu and the North Shore.

“This is where seeds of excellence hopefully will be born,” Sen. Dela Cruz said. “Knowledge is important but what you do with that knowledge is even more important… and hopefully this will be a center where people can take risks, learn to take action, fail so that they can learn and try again, make a difference in society.”

“This place will allow children to have a truly special experience where they can see learning in action, from reading books and attending story times at the library to seeing their siblings and parents taking classes upstairs to the college level,” State Librarian Stacey Aldrich said. “This reimagined and unified space for learning will become an educational pillar for the entire community.”

Construction costs are estimated at approximately $42.5 million and the project is anticipated to take two years to complete.