Kauai County blesses new Piikoi Youth Center in Līhue
A long-idle former Big Save in Līhue is set to become a youth hub, with free programming, toddler care and family services beginning to roll out in August.
Līhue families are set to gain a new place for child care, homework help and youth activities as the County of Kauai moves the Piikoi Youth Center toward opening. County and community leaders blessed the renovated former Big Save space at the Līhue Civic Center on Friday, June 19, with Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and Kahu Kelvin Ho marking the shift from construction to service delivery. The first tenant, the Keala Foundation, is expected to begin operating there in August.
The project is turning a 25,000-square-foot space that sat dormant for more than a decade into a center focused on children, families and early learning. County officials said the ARPA-funded renovation came with a $7.1 million price tag and was built by Shioi Construction Inc. Construction was set to begin July 9, 2024, with completion estimated for summer 2025, and a portion of the Līhue Civic Center parking lot and the skatepark facing Eiwa Street were closed during the work.
The county said the center will house four organizations once it is fully up and running. Keala Foundation will provide youth fitness, mentorship and homework support. Keiki o ka Āina Learning Centers will operate the infant-toddler center. Kauai Police Activities League, or K-PAL, will offer youth mentorship, e-sports and other activities in partnership with law enforcement. Aaea will run a family learning and interaction program aimed at strengthening early learning and family engagement. County officials said the building will also offer free youth programming and family support services, positioning the site as a single stop for some of the island’s most in-demand needs.
Getting the center ready pulled in multiple county departments, including Public Works, Planning, the Purchasing Division and the Office of the County Attorney, along with the State Department of Human Services to help ensure the renovated building meets licensing requirements for early learning and youth programs. County records show the childcare-services concession at Piikoi Youth Center was awarded for a five-year term at no cost to the county after bids were submitted in March by Keiki O' Ka Aina, Inc. and Kauai Montessori Project, Inc.
The project also fits into a longer effort to reshape the Līhue Civic Center, which county planning documents describe as historically, culturally and functionally important even as some residents say the core of town has lost some of its sense of place. The master plan calls for a more pedestrian-friendly campus, including closing Eiwa Street and improving transportation alternatives. For Līhue, the Piikoi Youth Center is not just a renovation completion; it is a new public service site designed to give keiki a safer place to learn, play and grow.
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