Project Background
In 1985, a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Hawai‘i Technology Park (now known as Mililani Technology Park) was prepared by Belt Collins & Associates for Oceanic Properties, Inc. (a subsidiary of Castle & Cooke, Inc.), which proposed the use of Parcel 057 for Phase II of the Mililani Technology Park (MTP) development. As stated in the FEIS, Phase II was proposed to include 115-acres of “campus industrial” use and 10-acres of open space use. Campus industrial use was described as those involving high-technology operations or closely related activities, such as electronics, instruments, tele-communications, bio-technology, renewable energy, manufacturing and assembly, research and development, marketing and training, and ancillary warehousing and administrative functions. The uses proposed at the FRTC will differ significantly from what was proposed in the 1985 FEIS for the Hawai‘i Technology Park.
In 2014, the Hawai‘i State Legislature appropriated funds for the acquisition of Phase II of the MTP (Parcels 057 and 039) to create the FRTC. In 2017, Pryzm Consulting LLC prepared a Due Diligence Report prior to HTDC’s acquisition of Parcel 057 from Castle and Cooke. The report included an assessment of a conceptual master plan prepared by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UH) Community Design Center, which included ten (10) State and County agencies to be located at the campus. The Due Diligence Report found that roads, water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure would need to be developed as none were currently provided to the site and development would require significant improvements to be made. Other potential concerns for development included the required land use entitlements and the potential for any historic properties or cultural resources on site.
In 2021, HTDC conducted a multi-day virtual charrette for the preparation of an updated master plan for the FRTC. The charrette involved representatives from nineteen (19) Federal, State and County agencies to understand their organization’s training and spatial needs, opportunities, and constraints. Through the charrette process, the agencies were able to: understand the needs of their partner agencies and opportunities for collaboration, build a collective vision of what the project can be, and understand the commitment of resources from each agency that was needed to complete the project. At the end of the process, an updated conceptual master plan was created that addressed the needs of each agency and provided facilities that could be shared amongst all of those located at the FRTC.