Hawaiʻi County officials broke ground Nov. 5 on a long-awaited improvement project at Kailua Park in Kona, the beachfront spot many locals still call Old A's because it sits on the former Kona Airport site. The project will deliver new restrooms, a concession building and the demolition of the old airport terminal, with the county targeting completion in early 2028.
A Park That Has Needed Help for Years
Kailua Park has needed new restrooms and other amenities for years, and the push finally became visible with dirt moving at the site, according to Big Island Now. Mayor Kimo Alameda and the county Department of Parks and Recreation took part in the ceremony marking the start of construction, as reported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Alameda said the groundbreaking fulfills a commitment to complete the project, adding that residents had looked forward to it for a long time.
“We are investing in the health, well-being and quality of life of our community,” Alameda said, according to the outlet's report. The old terminal building itself has sat closed for several years because of structural deterioration, a visible reminder of how long the park has waited for a fix.
Why the Shoreline Bathrooms Have Been Closed
The need for new facilities traces back to 2023, when a fire destroyed one of the two shoreline restrooms at Kailua Park, while the other was shut down over safety concerns. That left the park's beach area without working bathrooms for years. The blaze was reported just before 4 a.m. and caused about $750,000 in damage, per the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's original 2023 report, which noted the cause of the fire was still under investigation at the time.
The new project will replace both of those shuttered restrooms with two new beach-park restrooms that include showers. A separate restroom is also planned next to Makaeʻo Events Pavilion to serve pavilion users and canoe hale members, rounding out the plan to give different corners of the park their own updated facilities.
What's Changing Near the Old Terminal
Closer to the ballfield, crews will build a new concession building along with another restroom positioned across from the old terminal building. That terminal structure itself is slated for demolition, clearing the way for a new parking-lot system in the area it currently occupies.
The scope lines up with plans described back in February 2024, when the county was still working to secure approval from the State Historic Preservation Division for terminal-related work, the design phase already nearly 90% complete at that point, according to the same outlet's report. That same 2024 account from West Hawaii Today outlined a project including demolition, parking-lot enhancements, a new bathroom and a concession structure — largely the same package now under construction. The county had set aside $3.5 million back in 2019 for demolishing the old structure and building a new facility, per that report.
Goodfellow Sun JV is serving as the construction contractor on the project, which the county expects to wrap up in early 2028.
Other Park Upgrades on the Horizon
The Kailua Park work isn't the only facility improvement in the pipeline for the area. A separate project to install a new gym floor and new bleachers at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium, which sustained damage in March storms, is tentatively scheduled to begin in January, Big Island Now reported.
