There are two separate initiatives under way on the Manoa campus to improve the quality of student housing at the University of Hawai'i, and they need to remain separate.

The first is the project to demolish the vacant Frear Hall dormitory and replace it with an 800-bed residence. The $61 million to be spent on this is a worthwhile investment of tax money, given the critical need for student housing.

The second is a management audit of the UHM Student Housing Services, recently assigned to state Auditor Marion Higa following a resolution passed by the Legislature. Clearly students have been unhappy with the dorms. And given that the complaints are serious — alleging everything from misuse of dormitory space and excessive searches of student property — they deserve a careful look.

But there seems to be no good reason to postpone the development of this important dorm space while that audit is done, or for any other reason.

Critics of the project would like to see the work delayed until a new permanent vice chancellor takes office, expected this fall. It's reasonable to want such a key official to have a voice in the project, and with construction not set to begin until February, it ought to be possible without delaying site preparation. Reviewing the plans should be at the top of the new hire's to-do list.

Meanwhile, the demolition should proceed as scheduled, in the hopes that it could be completed by fall 2008.

It's unlikely students will be happy with the higher price-tag for housing or with the extra beds being added to the mix at the expense of common areas within each dorm apartment. While that's not ideal, it's no worse than the increasingly expensive and crowded housing available off campus.

It's important to continue the dialog over housing management, but let's get the construction going.