Travois worked with Pacific Growth Associates as consultants in late 2013 to bring more than $22 million in New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from three different Community Development Entities (CDEs) to fund a health center at Lai Opua, a collaborative project between Lai Opua 2020, a local nonprofit, and West Hawaii Community Health Center (WHCHC), a nonprofit working to provide healthcare to underserved Hawaiians.
The health center is the anchor of a development that will one day include a Kamehameha Schools preschool and a community center complex with office spaces, conference rooms, classrooms, a dance and audio visual center and much more.
Last month, West Hawaii Today featured a story on Lai Opua 2020 and its cooperation with West Hawaii Community Health Center. Construction is progressing — roofing, plumbing and electrical were installed in late November. The staff anticipates opening the medical center in May 2015.
As the point person for Travois on this deal, I had the pleasure of working with both the L2020 Executive Director Bo Kahui and the WHCHC Executive Director Richard Taaffe. Bo and Richard share great enthusiasm for this project that will certainly serve both organizations, and the village at Lai Opua, well as they continue to grow and expand. Take a moment to read the story from West Hawaii Today and see what great things are on the horizon on the Big Island.