Construction Update

Dear Families, Over the summer, we’ve made significant progress in the early stages of constructing the new Arrillaga Student Center, a visionary project that promises to redefine our campus experience for generations. At three stories and spanning 60,000 square feet, the Arrillaga Student Center is set to become a hallmark of our community, designed not only to meet but exceed the diverse needs of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Today marks a particularly exciting moment as we unveil a dynamic 3D fly-through video of the building, meticulously designed by our partners at WCIT and Gensler and constructed by Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. This virtual tour offers a captivating glimpse into the future of our school, showcasing the innovative design elements and thoughtful spaces that will make this center truly exceptional.

Named in recognition of a transformative $10 million lead gift from ‘Iolani parents Justine Stamen Arrillaga & John Arrillaga, the center boasts an array of impressive features, including:   Spacious two-story dining area Fully equipped commercial kitchen Faculty lounge Campus bookstore 6th-grade community 16 classrooms Health and Wellness Center Tea house where students will also practice tea ceremony, meditation, and presentness. The top floor has nearly 20,000 square feet of entertainment and gathering space, showcasing unobstructed Diamond Head and Waikīkī views. This modern facility is a significant leap forward from the 65-year-old structure it replaces, ensuring that ‘Iolani remains at the forefront of educational excellence and innovation. So far, construction is on schedule as we work toward completion in time for the Spring 2026 semester. For real-time construction updates, you can always visit our project website, which includes cameras live-streaming work at the construction site. In early August, you will receive another communication from our Associate Head of School with information on how the construction may impact operations during the school day. We hope as you watch this new 3D fly-through you enjoy this captivating glimpse into this impactful new addition to our campus. Mahalo, Tim  -- Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD Head of School 'Iolani School   This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a great Fourth of July holiday!

Please note that the areas indicated on the map below will be temporarily closed beginning July 12 to begin preparations for the underground sewer piping and manhole installation scheduled for the week of July 15. Additionally, crews will be doing work tomorrow, July 6. 

We will also begin installing the two temporary kitchen trailers next week. Sodexo will use these trailers to prepare food while the student center is being constructed. Below is a graphic depicting the location of the trailers. 

For ongoing updates, please visit our project website.

Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation.

Mahalo, 
Tim 

--

Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD
Head of School
'Iolani School
 

This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.

Email from Head of School Dr. Timothy R. Cottrell on June 28, 2024

Dear Friends,

Phase 2 construction of our Arrillaga Student Center continues to progress. The remaining demolition activities of the Student Center are scheduled through next week. Please note that noise levels will be elevated this afternoon and into next week as ACK needs to break up and remove the remaining concrete in the area.

Additionally, sprinklers will be running throughout the day and evening to assist with managing dust control from the demolition. As a result, you may experience a light mist when in close proximity to the construction site. This water is clean.

Next week’s activities will also include the installation of the covered walkways on the Makai side of the chapel and continuing the underground utility work. Below is a recap of the Phase 2 activities.

To view a live stream of the construction progress, please visit our project website.

We appreciate your continued understanding during this time.

Mahalo, 
Tim 

--

Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD
Head of School
'Iolani School
 

This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.

Email from Head of School Dr. Timothy R. Cottrell on June 21, 2024

Dear Friends,

The demolition of our Arrillaga Student Center has officially begun. ACK has let us know that the noise level will be particularly loud over the next two weeks due to the demolition activities. Additionally, please note that the traffic on Lā‘au Street will be heavier than usual due to the construction trucks coming in and out to assist with removing the debris. Construction trucks are scheduled to begin transporting the debris at 8 a.m. on Monday after Summer School Autoline morning traffic. We appreciate your continued support and partnership as we continue with this phase of construction.

For project updates or to view the construction progress in real-time, please visit our project website.

Mahalo, 
Tim 

--

Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD
Head of School
'Iolani School
 

This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.

Click to view PDF of email sent to all Summer Programs families on June 7, 2024.

 

Email from Head of School Dr. Timothy R. Cottrell on June 6, 2024

Dear Friends,

I’m excited to share that the initial stages of construction of the Arrillaga Student Center are off to a great start! As previously shared, below is a recap of the Phase 2 activities that will be ongoing from now through September 2024. For real-time updates, please be sure to visit our project website. We’ve recently added a live camera feed to the page so you can view the current status of construction at any time. 

During this phase of construction, installation of the construction barricades require us to reconfigure the chapel tent. As depicted in the below graphic, the former tent (30ft X 120 ft) will be replaced with a shorter, but wider, tent (50ft X 80ft). As we progress with construction and the barricade moves back, we plan to add more tables with umbrellas to replenish as much covered seating on campus as we can. 

Over the next couple of months, we will also begin the installation of our temporary kitchen, which Sodexo will use to prepare food while the student center is being constructed. Below is a graphic to depict the location of the trailers. As discussed, on-campus food service will continue throughout construction. Throughout the summer, Sodexo will prepare food off-campus and have it delivered. During the 2024-25 school year, as noted below, three trailers will be installed behind the Art Building to serve as a temporary kitchen and serving area.  

In addition to the Arrillaga Student Center construction, we have also begun work to resurface the track this summer. We started work on this project shortly after graduation and expect everything to be completed by early August. While the track will not be usable during this time, it is expected to be fully functional before the start of the 2024-25 school year. 

Thank you in advance for your continued support, patience, and partnership. 

Mahalo, 
Tim 

--

Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD
Head of School
'Iolani School
 

This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.

Email from Head of School Dr. Timothy R. Cottrell on May 8, 2024

Dear Parents,

After many months of planning and working with our architects, engineers, and contractors, we are excited to move forward soon with the start of construction of our beautiful new student center.

I’m pleased to share that our construction timeline is on schedule with permitting, etc. The first step will be to take down our current student center in June after graduation and begin the 18-month construction process.

If everything goes according to plan, we expect to complete construction in time to have the new center open for use by the Spring 2026 semester. 

This new Arrillaga Student Center will truly be a stunning and much-needed addition to our campus. It will include a dining hall twice the size of our current space, a new wellness center, a bookstore, a 6th-grade community, Upper School classrooms, programmatic and event spaces, and much more.

That said, we know the next 18-20 months will be challenging and inconvenient in many ways as we all go through the construction process and do our best to continue school and operations as usual. We are committed to providing regular communication and updates to help us navigate the impacts of this work.  

A few important items to share with you:

• CONSTRUCTION  HOURS: Our contractor’s typical workday is Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. However, as much as possible, to minimize congestion, they plan to avoid work that will affect the autoline traffic during peak hours at drop-off or pick-up. But please be patient, as there may still be unexpected delays from time to time.
• FOOD SERVICE: On-campus food service will continue throughout this process. 
  • During the summer, Sodexo will prepare food off-campus and have it delivered. As in years past, lunch plans must be pre-purchased via the Summer Programs Office. On the days that school is in session, the Weinberg Snack Bar will be open from 7 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. with breakfast, lunch, and snack items available for purchase. Please note that meal card accounts do not work during the summer. Only cash will be accepted at the snack bar during the summer. 
  • During the 2024-25 school year, three trailers will be installed behind the Art Building to serve as a temporary kitchen and serving area. Sodexo will share additional details about food service during the school year at a later date. 
• GATHERING SPACES FOR STUDENTS: We recognize the construction of the Student Center will remove some of the existing seating areas on campus, and we are currently working to create new areas for our students to gather.
• INFIRMARY & FACULTY LOUNGE: The infirmary and faculty lounge will be temporarily relocated to spaces within the Art Building. For the entirety of the project, the infirmary will operate out of the Art Gallery, and the Art Office will serve as the temporary faculty lounge until they move back to their permanent new spaces in the Arrillaga Student Center.
• FUNDING FOR PROJECT: The School has planned and accounted for costs for this building, thanks to the contributions of many generous donors combined with operational dollars already set aside for the project. This construction will have no direct impact on your tuition cost.

We have created a new "Construction Update" website as your resource for regular communication updates on the project. This website is for our faculty/staff/students and families to be continually informed of the work happening each week as we move through the phases of the project. Please check this website regularly, as it will be continually updated to reflect the latest information.

The project is broken into 8 phases, for which there are brief descriptions beneath the Timeline Simulation Video on the "Construction Update" website. Below is a brief description of the first phase of the 18-20 month project. 

Phase 1: (during the last two weeks of May) Phase 1 of the project includes: relocating the bleachers fronting the baseball field, moving the tent on the Ewa side of the chapel (after the last day of school), clearing the dugouts, and removing all items currently stored in the Student Center. 

Effective June 3, the Student Center will become unavailable as the fencing and staging goes up for the start of Phase 2, which is anticipated to run from June 2024 to September 2024. During this time, major construction activities include the installation of the construction barricade and covered walkways, abatement, demolition of the existing Student Center, site work, utility relocation and installation, and underground foundation work. Our builder, Albert C. Kobayashi Inc. (ACK), has informed us that the noise level during this period will be rather loud at times, so we plan to communicate frequently with faculty to ensure they are aware of these days and can plan their curriculum accordingly.

Below are some general communication tools and resources we plan to implement to help keep us all informed during this process.

COMMUNICATION CADENCE AND RESOURCES: 

• During construction, we will send regular emails that preview major construction activities and possible impacts on campus operations to help you plan accordingly. 
• Real-time updates on the progress of the construction and activities for each phase will be shared on the Arrillaga Student Center "Construction Update" website.

About our contractors - Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc.

This project is personal and special for the leaders of the company selected to build it. The immediate past president of the company, Russell Young, is an alumnus of the Class of 1968. His son, who now leads the company, is Michael Young, Class of 2001, and his son Kyrie is Class of 2036. Not only is ACK recognized as one of the best contractors in the state, but this three-generation ‘Iolani family is honored and excited to be a part of the team to deliver this stunning new addition to the campus of their school.

About our Architects - WCIT Architecture and Gensler

For the design of the building, local award-winning architecture firm WCIT is partnering with a global firm considered one of the best architects in the world for educational spaces, Gensler. 

Here’s what they had to say about the building:

“What immediately sets the Arrillaga Student Center apart, as seen from any angle, is that it’s not just another building to fulfill a needed function, but a physical embodiment of ‘Iolani School’s spirit and energy. It moves, it stirs emotion, it invites everyone in. It’s not a generic, but rather, a very site-specific extension of the spiritual and social center of the school. It has a well-formed relationship with the environment, giving users the choice to not just be inside or outside but a range of contexts, all while being visually connected to the campus and the Honolulu setting. That’s what sets it apart and will make it a landmark building in Honolulu!”

We also invite you to visit iolani.org/arrillaga-student-center for more photos of the new student center and more on the wonderful new opportunities it will provide for our campus. We are also very grateful to Justine Stamen Arrillaga & John Arrillaga, as well as the many other generous donors who have contributed to making this possible. Thank you in advance for your patience and partnership as we begin this endeavor. 

Mahalo,
Tim

--
Timothy R. Cottrell, PhD
Head of School
'Iolani School

This communication may contain information that may be confidential, privileged and/or prohibited from disclosure. Except for personal use by the intended recipient, or as expressly authorized by the sender, any person who receives this information is prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, and/or using it. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and all copies, and promptly notify the sender. Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an electronic signature under applicable law.