A once-doomed $74 million project that would more than double the number of dormitory beds at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo campus is again back on track after stalling several times over the past two years.

Development of the dorm and retail facility, which would be built across the street from the Hilo campus, was given a stamp of approval recently by the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents. Over the past several years, Hilo officials have pushed for the facility, called the U.S.-China Center, citing a severe dorm shortage and a waiting list of hundreds of students a semester.

Officials said the project is sorely needed at UH-Hilo, one of the fastest-growing campuses in the UH system.

"Students turn down acceptance to UH-Hilo because they just can't find housing in Hilo," said Keith Miser, special assistant to the chancellor for international programs at UH-Hilo.

Miser said the new facility will give the university a much-needed boost in student recruitment and retention.

Campus officials estimate the housing problem will only get worse as UH-Hilo's student population is estimated to reach 5,000 by 2010. Hilo also has the only pharmacy school in the Islands, which is expected to attract some 400 students over the next couple of years, officials said.

The approved private-public partnership between UH and GEO International Explorer Inc., a California-based property development and management firm, gives the developer permission to create a hotel, retail space and a cultural center on 36 acres of state land in exchange for building dormitories for UH-Hilo students. The project is expected to add at least 800 beds — about 200 beds in each of four buildings — to the UH-Hilo campus at the estimated cost of $74 million. The project includes a plan to add even more beds if the demand is higher than expected.

The developer is expected to bear the cost of construction and would likely recoup the investment from profits from the hotel and retail space, the university said.

"Housing is so severely needed at UH-Hilo, just like UH-Manoa," Miser said.

There are 622 beds on the UH-Hilo campus, far less than the more than 1,200 students who seek on-campus housing each year.

Last fall, the waiting list for housing was more than 300 students, said Miles Nagata, director of housing and student services at UH-Hilo. The waiting list has topped nearly 500 students in past semesters.

But the wait list doesn't begin to demonstrate the pressing need for more student housing, Miser said.

"We've been housing about 300 students in special arrangements with four or five local apartment complexes. We believe that when the new housing comes online, it will be immediately filled, and there will be demand to build more housing after that," he said.

UH-Hilo students often flood the local rental market as well, staying long-term in hotel rooms and apartments. For years, Hilo officials have pushed for more student housing because of the tight rental market.

University officials also stress that the new U.S.-China Center will be more than a housing facility. The center would include retail shopping, restaurants, a small hotel for university visitors and a cultural center for conferences held at the university.

"Having this is going to be an important part of the campus environment," Nagata said.

Because of UH-Hilo's location, students often have to walk a long distance to retail areas, such as Downtown Hilo or the Prince Kuhio Mall. The U.S.-China Center would help create a "college town" atmosphere similar to the UH-Manoa area, officials said.

"There will be an exciting university mall that will have stores that will be especially liked by students and the campus, but will end up being visited by everyone in Hilo," Miser said.

Hilo officials have been fighting for the new facility for years. But the project, which uses a public-private partnership development agreement, ran into several legal issues in mid-2006. Over the past year and a half, UH officials have been attempting to resolve the legal issues so that the project could get back on track, said Carolyn Tanaka, UH system spokeswoman.

"The U.S.-China Center is an extraordinary entrepreneurship project for UH-Hilo and a great example of a public-private partnership that will benefit our students, faculty and staff, as well as the Big Island community," said UH-Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng.

Students can expect to pay between $5,580 and $8,500 a year for the apartment-style housing; however, officials point out that the rent will likely be split up into monthly payments. Students living on the UH-Hilo campus now pay a range of $2,524 to 4,580 a year.

A construction timetable for the project has yet to be decided. However, Hilo officials said development will begin as soon as possible.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.