Council Chairman Ernie Martin wants the city to buy the Blood Bank of Hawaii’s headquarters on Dillingham Boulevard in Kalihi and turn it into an all-in-one center devoted to helping homeless families.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation this month restarted contentious condemnation proceedings regarding 4,451 square feet of space in front of the blood bank’s building in Kalihi to be used for the city’s rail project.

But Martin wants the city to buy all of the blood bank’s 27,176 square feet of land and the entire 15,723-square-foot building.

He then wants to upgrade the building to provide a range of services to help homeless and low-income families, including the possibility of housing; a “hygiene center” where homeless people can shower and use the bathroom; and a “navigation center” where they will be surrounded by social service case workers who could potentially help with everything from substance abuse to job placement.

The center would be located on the rail line, which Martin hopes will be a critical link between homeless people and the jobs and schools that could improve their lives. It will also be close to Helping Hands Hawaii, which assists the mentally ill and homeless.

Details still need to be worked out, such as the cost to buy the property and exactly what kind of services would be provided.

But Martin hopes to accommodate “probably significantly more” than the 80 to 90 homeless people who are expected to eventually move into the city’s Hale Mauliola transitional shelter, which is made out of converted shipping containers on Sand Island.

The Blood Bank of Hawaii already moved its permanent donor facility to Young Street in Moiliili in January because of the rail project, but still uses the Kalihi building for blood processing, testing and distribution.

In a statement, Kim-Anh Nguyen, president and CEO of Blood Bank of Hawaii, said: “HART’s acquisition of the Dillingham portion of our property by eminent domain will put at risk our ability to meet our overarching priority — providing a safe and reliable blood supply for the people of the Hawaii. The rail construction and operation will obviously impact us beyond just the taking of our land, because blood processing, testing, and distribution facilities like ours are hugely affected by noise and vibration, and we need safe entry and exit points to our facility around the clock.

“While we will continue to strive for a resolution with HART and welcome solutions proposed by Chair Martin and Honolulu City Council, we owe it to the community to remain steadfast to ensure patient needs are met, and that our property and relocation rights under the law are respected,” she said.

Councilman Joey Manahan, who represents Kalihi, supports Martin’s idea and believes it would keep HART on schedule with the rail project while addressing the largest per capita homeless population in the country.

“It’s a new idea, a new concept altogether,” Manahan said. “We have a lot of homeless folks there already. I know it’s not a cure-all, it’s not a silver bullet, but it addresses a lot of the issues we’re grappling with.”

Since the city broke up the Kapalama Canal homeless encampment in his district last year, Manahan said, “there are still pockets of encampments where people are trying to survive. A hygiene center would address a lot of issues. We’ve got to do something.”

Martin said the Blood Bank of Hawaii land and building provide “a unique opportunity for the city to acquire some property that I believe has enormous potential to address some of the issues facing the community with respect to our homeless population.”

Martin said the project would “complement what the mayor has done on Sand Island focusing on singles. We would address working homeless and homeless families with children. In the short term we can address some immediate needs.”

Martin introduced a resolution Thursday urging Caldwell’s staff and HART to work together to acquire the property.

His resolution will go to the City Council’s Budget Committee on Wednesday. If it passes, it could go before the full Council on March 16.

In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, city spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke said: “Mayor Caldwell is pleased that Chair Martin put forward this proposal and he’s happy the council and administration are working together to create housing.

“Chief of Staff Ray Soon and Office of Strategic Development Director Sandy Pfund toured the site a couple months ago. The location is ideal, but the building is not designed for residential living; funds would need to be appropriated for renovations to make it habitable. With such funding the administration would be eager to move forward with the proposal.”

With Caldwell presenting his budget proposal to the Council on Tuesday, Martin said “it’s the perfect time” to buy the Blood Bank of Hawaii property.