New Military Construction in Hawaii Looks to Tax Labor Pool

The Honolulu Advertiser reports that the Hawaii congressional delegation will meet on the labor demands that 7,700 new military homes ($2.2 billion in Army, Navy and Air Force housing) will place on the state?EUR??,,????'???s construction industry and whether its 26,700 construction workers can meet the need.

Such a ?EUR??,,????'??summit?EUR??,,????'?? will include representatives from the trade unions, the Hawaii Building Industry Association, the chamber of commerce and the developers selected to build the housing.

This is the kind of problem most states would like to experience.

Hawaii Military Communities, LLC, comprised of Forest City Enterprises Inc., based in Cleveland, and C.F. Jordan LP of El Paso, Texas, will build and manage the first phase of Navy housing on Oahu, which reportedly could expand to a $1 billion project covering 7,300 Navy and Marine Corps homes.

Drawings of the proposed homes reveal open porches ?EUR??,,????'??fronting large, friendly neighborhoods unfettered by cars that would be parked in back.?EUR??,,????'?? The homes would surround "greenways," and no home would be more than a quarter-mile from major neighborhood recreational centers featuring swimming pools, exercise areas and meeting rooms.

Hawaii Military Communities is negotiating with the Navy for the first project phase of 1,948 units. The cost is estimated at $358 million for construction, renovation, demolition, and for the community centers, landscaping and street improvements.

Work could begin late this year and is expected to take four years.