Central Pacific Bank donates downtown office, furniture and rooftop solar to city for Department of Community Services

Council Chair Waters and the City Council Committee on Budget on July 21 moved to report out a resolution accepting a donation from Central Pacific Bank that will let the Department of Community Services occupy a new downtown office building later this year. The gift includes the office building at 222 North School Street, on-site furniture and equipment, a rooftop solar array and backup power equipment, and one parcel of land near Queen Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden valued in the donation documents at $1,630,032.63. The committee recommended the measure be reported out for adoption.

The donation is intended to let the Department of Community Services (DCS) rapidly transition into a consolidated office and provide a public-facing community service facility. "The rooftop solar array and backup power appliance will also enhance reliability and resiliency of our operations," Edward Los Banos, deputy director of the Department of Community Services, told the committee. He said furniture and improvements will remain on-site to facilitate a cost-efficient move.

The nut graf: accepting the gift would give the city an occupied facility and on-site equipment for DCS operations while requiring review of the donation agreement terms and any recorded restrictions on the included parcel. The committee’s action forwards the resolution to the full council for adoption, allowing the city to complete closing and take possession as described in the donation agreement.

Committee members thanked Central Pacific Bank for the donation during the public portion of the meeting. Los Banos acknowledged Central Pacific Bank leadership and noted that the land parcel included in the donation agreement is a landlocked piece between the office building and Queen Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden; the donation agreement treats the land at appraised value while furniture and equipment were valued at depreciated book value. No public testimony was offered on the measure at the committee meeting.

The committee’s recommendation was procedural: the chair recommended that Resolution 25‑199 be reported out for adoption. No formal roll-call vote was recorded in the discussion transcript; the chair announced "so ordered" and moved on to the next agenda item. The resolution, if adopted by the full council, will permit the city to finish closing on the property this fall and place DCS staff and services in the downtown location.

Details on any covenants, deed restrictions, maintenance responsibilities for the rooftop solar, and any recorded rights or easements affecting the included land parcel were not discussed in detail during the committee meeting and would be handled as part of the closing and the donation agreement.