House Committee Earmarks $40M for New Kona Courthouse

Editor’s note: The original posting of this article contained an incorrect figure for the appropriation.

A $40 million appropriation to build a new Kona courthouse was approved this week by the House Finance Committee.

State Judiciary officials have long noted the need to consolidate Kona court proceedings which are currently held in three different locations.

Officials said those venues were not originally designed for court operations and present a myriad of logistical and security challenges.

Hawaii Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald asked the state Legislature for $90 million in funding a year ago.

According to Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen, the Senate is anticipated to allocate additional funding for the courthouse.

After a lengthy process, the Judiciary last year settled on a location for the courthouse, a 10-acre parcel located across Makala Boulevard from the Makalapua Center on the north side of Kailua-Kona.