Renovation of Historic Building begins at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Project managers and the project construction team held a ceremony Sept. 20 before beginning the renovation of Bldg. 9 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

This $18.8 million project will renew the 100-year-old structure for the Nuclear Engineering and Planning department. The shipyard began the renovation of Bldg. 9 after a blessing led by Rev. Derrick K. Kalei of the Lanakila Church.

"It was an honor to me," said Kalei. "The history of the land and the building made me connect back to the land. I felt it was very important because of its history, and it gave me a chance to not just look at Pearl Harbor, but Oahu."

Bldg. 9 is one of the first building renovations to take place throughout in the shipyard.

Project teams and supervisors, contracted and employed by the shipyard, joined in the ceremony.

"The building will be refurbished and sheer walled with many system upgrades like air conditioning," Michael Mock, nuclear engineer, said as he described the end result. The building will house the Nuclear Inspection and Radiological Engineering divisions.

The building will retain its historic exterior structure while being a fully functional modern office building.

Since these buildings are declared historical landmarks, updating these structures can take more time than usual, said Mock.

"As a carpenter, I know it is always good to pray for construction to go smoothly, because so much can happen," Kalei said. "I called upon God to bless Building nine, the land around us, and all the workers whether construction workers from the shipyard or contracted personnel, and of course the project managers and teams helping on all levels."

The Information Resource Management division also had a hand in helping this mission, setting up computer and network sites for all the temporary relocation offices for previous tenants.

"Building nine is scheduled for the restoration to be completed after February 2014. That's when the contractors turn over the building to us. We then have security requirements and other items to check off before we begin our migration back into the building," Mock said.

Hawaii's largest general contractors, NAN Inc. teamed up with the shipyard to begin construction.

In the meantime, the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department, which consists of about 300 personnel, have been temporarily housed across the shipyard and are expected to return to their new workspace in the summer of 2014.

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