HILO, Hawai'i — The state land board has tentatively approved a major expansion of the University of Hawai'i-Hilo campus, agreeing to lease to the university more than 50 acres in urban Waiakea that may be developed into faculty housing, classrooms and other facilities.

UHH is now centered on 115 acres in Hilo. The three parcels that are to be leased to the university lie north of the current campus.

The university is also in separate discussions with military officials to try to acquire a U.S. Army Reserve facility in the same area, a facility that may be decommissioned in the next five years in a military restructuring.

That 3.7-acre Army reserve site is being eyed as a promising location for UHH's planned College of Pharmacy, which is expected to begin classes in 2008.

Gerald De Mello, director of university relations for UHH, said the university plans to hire a consultant to develop a plan for the best mix of uses for the area.

Ideas that have been floated include a bike path along the flood-control channel that cuts through the property, a playing field, classrooms and affordable faculty housing.

"What we want to do is something that is low-impact" for the area, which is almost completely surrounded by existing homes and some businesses, De Mello said. "What we would do is leave a good perimeter, a buffer or small green belt between us and the housing."

Hospice of Hilo has also been in discussions with the university about opening a new facility on a 3-acre portion of the parcel, and De Mello said the hospice operation might benefit from partnerships with UHH programs for nursing, gerontology and social work.

The parcel also has promise as a future site for new UHH classroom space or laboratory or a new science facility, he said. He said there are no plans for student dorms on the site.

UHH enrollment is now about 3,400 students, and university officials have a near-term goal of increasing that to about 5,000.

The new land lease is the latest step in a rapid expansion for UHH, which acquired another 300 acres mauka of the existing campus six years ago to add to its high-tech park. A 100-acre piece of that property has been set aside for the new Hawai'i Community College campus.

In all, the UHH now has the 115-acre main campus, the adjoining 480-acre University Science and Technology Park, and a 110-acre farm in the Pana'ewa Agricultural Park.

One setback for the campus has been a long series of delays in a private mixed-use development known as the U.S.-China Center planned for 36 acres south of campus, which was supposed to provide badly needed dorm rooms for students.

University officials have been discussing or planning the project for almost a decade, but owner GEO International Explorer Inc. of Taiwan has yet to break ground. The first phase of the project is supposed to include four buildings that would provide 800 to 1,200 dorm spaces for students.

De Mello said a new contractor was recently brought into the project, and university officials are awaiting the new contractor's construction schedule.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.