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Nonprofits’ deteriorating office building to be torn down, replaced

By Chris Sugidono 4 min read

Maui County's largest drug and alcohol treatment providers plan to replace and demolish their 79-year-old administration building, which has severely deteriorated and become a safety hazard for workers, officials said.

Maui Youth & Family Services, Aloha House and Malama Family Recovery Center -- a tri-agency partnership under umbrella organization Maui Behavioral Health Resources -- hope to begin construction Nov. 1. The nonprofits plan to complete the building by June 1 and demolish the old building on its Makawao campus shortly after.

The Maui Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to issue the agencies a special use permit. The entire project is estimated to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million, Chief Executive Officer Jud Cunningham said.

"The building we're currently in is a very, very old building and also very dilapidated," Cunningham said. "It's been in need of replacement for a long time."

Plans call for the new 5,600-square-foot building to have a "plantation-style" appearance and 16 offices, two restrooms, storage space, a centralized boardroom, an accounting and billing area, reception and waiting areas and room for future expansion. It also includes a 1,000-square-foot lanai.

The project includes a new wastewater system and driveway entrance and a parking lot extension of 21 stalls.

Weather has left the current building with dry rot and water damage. The floor is uneven, and the foundation is shifting and collapsing.

Interior walls have shifted, causing cracks. There are holes in the ceiling, and one part of the foundation is being held up by a large rock. Rodents and other vermin have become problems, and algae has grown on exterior planks.

"When it rains hard, we have to set out trash cans in the hallway," Cunningham said. "We've tried to fix the leaks -- spent quite a bit of money trying to fix the leaks, and it's almost impossible. It's a tin roof, and it's almost impossible to isolate where the leaks are. We had roofers plug every hole, and we still have that problem. It's also unhealthy from mold, and it's never been tented in at least 30 years so it's probably termite infested too.

"It's definitely had its glory days."

Due to the extensive problems, repairing the building was not an option, Cunningham said. He added that constructing the new building first allows workers to move only once and avoid renting a temporary location.

Cunningham said that the office is an "essential point" for training, distributing supplies and other administrative services. He said the board of directors will no longer have to meet inside an attached "old crumbling modular building" for daily meetings.

Board President Mason Williams said that the nonprofit group that boasts nearly 200 employees has run out of space in its current building. The groups combine to serve more than 6,000 individuals and families in the county each year.

"The need for what we do is growing as the population grows, so it's essential that we get this project running as soon as possible," Williams said.

He said that the effort to construct the new building began a couple years ago, and the project has acquired about half of the funding through state, county and private resources. He said issues of substance abuse on Maui and nationwide seemingly appear on the front page of the news every day.

"The federal government is concerned, President Trump is concerned about it, everybody is concerned about it," Williams said. "This problem has been around forever, and we do remarkable things. When I first joined the board I thought we were changing lives -- we actually save lives because many people have given up on life, and we've given them a second chance."

In addition to substance abuse treatment, the tri-agency group provides behavioral and mental health programs and foster care.

"It's pretty heartwarming especially at Malama where we reunite our moms with their babies and get them clean and sober," Williams said. "We help them find work and a place to live and start their lives all over again."

* Chris Sugidono can be reached at csugidono@mauinews.com.

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