Demolition of 54-year-old university residence hall to begin this summer

Work paves way for construction of new student residence hall on the Mānoa campus for the first time in 28 years

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Jim Manke, (808) 956-6099
Chancellor's Office
Posted: May 12, 2006

HONOLULU — Preparation work for the demolition of Frear Hall is scheduled to begin the week of May 15 with construction of a 12-foot high construction and dust fence surrounding the three buildings, which have not housed students since 1997. During the following 2 to 3 weeks abatement work will be conducted inside the buildings including the removal of asbestos in the floor tiles and removal of an underground fuel storage tank.

Actual demolition of the buildings is expected to take place beginning June 19 and take about 3 weeks. [Update: Demolition work is now scheduled to begin on Monday, July 10.] Work on the site was scheduled for the summer to minimize disruptions and noise disturbance to students in the surrounding residential facilities.

In July, 2005, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents approved moving forward with a public-private partnership to construct a new 800-bed residential facility on the Mānoa campus. An agreement has been signed with American Campus Communities of Austin, Texas.

Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2007 and completed in time for the fall semester of 2008. The last residence hall at Mānoa was opened in 1978.