Lydia House

Lydia House, named affectionately after the last reigning monarch of Hawaiʻi, is a youth service center for unhoused Native Hawaiian youth. Lydia House frames the edge of a small residential enclave in urban Downtown Honolulu. The project renovated a derelict 1950’s 4-story mixed-use building. The ground floor, once a disparate collection of small stores and restaurants, was gut-renovated into the youth service center. The center includes a drop-in service area with a snack bar and shower; private counseling rooms; a youth lounge and computer area; medical exam room; meeting and training rooms; activity room; kitchen and laundry. The 3-stories above have been re-purposed into staff offices and apartments for their youth clients with the scope focusing on life-safety upgrades. The building exterior was renovated, the ground floor canopy rebuilt, a new frosted glass storefront installed to wrap the ground floor. The concrete masonry envelope was repaired and painted and new railings and decorative screens were installed. This transformational project brings much needed services to our most vulnerable youth and breathes new life into this building and revitalizes the surrounding neighborhood.