KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS

Kamehameha Schools is a private, charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the great-granddaughter and last royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. Grounded firmly in Hawaiian values, Pauahi was an excellent student, gifted in music, and known widely for her generosity and kindness.

When Pauahi was born in 1831, the Native Hawaiian population numbered 124,000. By the time she wrote her will, the population had rapidly dwindled to just 44,000. During her lifetime, she also witnessed the decline of Hawaiian language, culture and traditions. Pauahi knew that education would be the key to restoring her people, so in an enduring act of aloha, she left them a precious gift upon her passing in 1884 – over 375,000 acres of ancestral ‘āina. She instructed the trustees of her estate to use the land to educate her people and in 1887 Kamehameha Schools was established. Today her endowment supports one of the largest educational systems in the United States that serves tens of thousands of Hawaiian learners in Hawai‘i and around the world.

Hānai i ke keiki, ola ka lāhui
Nurture the child and the lāhui thrives

Kamehameha Schools (KS) seeks to generate a positive impact not only in education, but also in environment, community, culture, and economics. The KS Commercial Real Estate Division has the responsibility to integrate legacy, culture, and a sense of place into its development projects to perpetuate and inspire a Hawaiian worldview. While KS’ ancestral lands are primarily used for agriculture and conservation, roughly 1,500 acres are reserved for commercial property including Kū‘ono Marketplace and a number of additional parcels across 193 acres in Kāhala.

The redevelopment of six underutilized parcels into Kū‘ono Marketplace at Kāhala helps KS achieve its goal to optimize the strength, breadth and strategic alignment of its resources with an organization-wide focus on funding the endowment that supports the education of Native Hawaiians. Additionally, this project benefits the community of Kāhala by bringing in refreshed resources and new tenants that can better serve the area.

KS believes in creating mutually beneficial relationships to build and develop thriving communities while balancing the needs of the surrounding community to stimulate Hawai‘i’s economy.

For more information about KS, visit ksbe.edu.