PBS Hawaii celebrates 50 years, moving into a new home by Allied Builders System
BY BRETT ALEXANDER-ESTES
In 1966, PBS Hawaii—then known as KHET—began broadcasting public television programs on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Fifty years later, the station opened the PBS Hawaii New Home, a new $30 million broadcasting center on Sand Island Access Road.
In November 2014, general contractor Allied Builders System broke ground on the center’s site along with the other members of the New Home team—the client and site owner, PBS Hawaii; Group 70 project architect Sheryl Seaman; Hierarchy LLP design consultant Jennifer M. Camp; and Cumming, an international project and cost consulting firm.
“Cumming was engaged as the owner’s representative—taking the lead in the management of design and construction,” says Andrew Tanton, managing director of Cumming’s Hawaii office. “Cumming facilitated the bidding process, which resulted in the selection of Allied Builders System as the general contractor.”
Gary Oda, Allied Builders System president, says the main project challenge was “adding a new steel structure to an existing concrete structure”—the single-story former KFVE Newsplex. Another major issue, he says, was relocating the broadcast technology from the Manoa facility to the new building.
“The level of technology integration was very unique as the broadcast business has moved into the digital age,” says Tanton, “and sometimes we felt like we were building a data center that also creates PBS award-winning productions.”
In addition, Oda says, “the intricate, custom design of the building created challenges and complexities.” So Cumming, Tanton says, “recommended that PBS hire third-party consultants who have specialized knowledge—for example, acousticians, materials-testing firms and building envelope experts.”
Off Nimitz Highway, the new twostory, 32,000-square-foot broadcast studio began to take shape.
The new master-planned studio features educational facilities and incorporates new, sustainable construction materials and techniques. Oda says the new building required “floor plate extensions for both first floor (concrete) and second floor (steel), a new structural steel roof and equipment penthouse, new 6.1-meter and 7-meter satellite dishes, a new microwave dish, a new fiber connection to Syracuse, N.Y., for joint master control of PBS content, and a new 2,400-square-foot TV studio and interactive multimedia center.”
Construction logistics were complicated by the extremely confined jobsite, Oda says. Tracking long lead materials, he says, “was a crucial part of maintaining our project schedule. We provided design and means and method input to the architect/owner team to facilitate coordination and help enhance the project decisionmaking process.”
The expected coordination issues, Tanton says, “had to be dealt with immediately” and “required real-time collaboration—beyond the weekly project meeting—with the design team and general contractor. We identified the issues, explored our options with the broader development team, and presented our options and recommendations to the PBS Hawaii team.”
PBS Hawaii’s New Home wrapped in April 2016, and in September celebrated its grand opening. “We at PBS Hawaii truly feel we have the best working space in Honolulu,” says Leslie Wilcox, PBS Hawaii president and CEO
“We were able to work through the many obstacles on the project to ensure a successful outcome,” Oda says. “At the opening blessing, PBS praised our project team for their dedication and commitment to building PBS Hawaii’s new home.”
Says Tanton: “From all accounts the new facility has exceeded expectations. Absolutely the most gratifying part of this experience has been able to work with PBS Hawaii—Leslie Wilcox, Karen Yamamoto, John Nakahira and Paul Hayashida. All contributed to make this challenging project fun.”
Allied’s subcontractors and suppliers, says Oda, were all instrumental in making the project a success. “Everyone involved in the day-to-day of the project recognizes the effort put forth to make it happen,” he says. “PBS Hawaii views this facility as being for the people of Hawaii. The facility—along with PBS Hawaii’s programming and learning initiatives—will continue to foster knowledge and interest in broadcasting and the Hawaiian community.”
