Honolulu Lifeguard HQ Shake-Up: City Floats Kapiolani Park Land Swap

Honolulu is trying to solve a growing space crunch for its lifeguards, and the fix could involve a land swap tied to Kapiolani Park, temporary trailers on Leahi Avenue and a search along the waterfront and in Kakaako for a permanent Ocean Safety headquarters.

Land swap would legalize temporary Leahi use

Under the city’s proposal, two Leahi Avenue parcels, totaling about 0.35 acres, would be taken out of the Kapiolani Park trust on a temporary basis. In exchange, a roughly 2.21 acre parcel on Kalakaua Avenue would be permanently added to the trust. That trade is designed to legitimize Ocean Safety’s short term use of the Leahi site while the city hunts for a long term home.

City Managing Director Mike Formby has told neighborhood boards that the administration is weighing options along the waterfront against a city owned Kakaako parcel near the Children’s Discovery Center and that no final decision has been made. The plan has been presented to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board No. 9 and the Diamond Head Kapahulu St. Louis Neighborhood Board No. 5. A Waikiki meeting on Jan. 13 was heard but not formally agendized and was deferred for more discussion, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Ocean Safety is now its own department

The Ocean Safety Department became a standalone public safety agency in 2024, giving Honolulu’s lifeguards their own chain of command and dedicated resources. The mayor’s office says the department now oversees hundreds of water safety officers and dozens of towers around Oʻahu, a workload that city leaders point to as the driver for more office, storage and fleet space.

According to the Office of the Mayor, the reorganization was meant to provide lifeguards with greater autonomy and support as their responsibilities expand.

Short term fix: trailers, a budget ask and legal hurdles

While the long term search plays out, the city is pitching a stopgap solution at the current headquarters at 3823 Leahi Ave. The plan is to lease and install two mobile office trailers on site to handle overflow staff and operations.

The existing Leahi office building sits on the trust encumbered parcels, is about 2,280 square feet and dates back to 1964. The city’s rough cost estimate for leasing the trailers is about $100,000, an expense that would be folded into the fiscal year 2027 budget that starts July 1, 2026.

Any land swap tied to Kapiolani Park would have to be approved by the park’s trustees, which in practice means the Honolulu City Council acting in its trustee role. City officials say the move could also require court action, as reported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Where the city is looking and what’s next

Sites under consideration include Kewalo Basin and the city owned parcel in Kakaako next to the Children’s Discovery Center at 111 Ohe St., according to the city’s presentation.

The search comes as Ocean Safety upgrades facilities elsewhere. Reporting and city documents describe a new Kailua Beach Park base station moving toward completion in mid 2026, even as officials say they will keep meeting with neighborhood boards before bringing any land swap proposal to the Council. For more context on the Kailua project, see coverage from Spectrum Local News.