McCully District Park is about to lose both its recreation building and its swimming pool to construction, with work on the recreation building set to begin this month and pool deck repairs following in January. The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation says the recreation building will stay closed through the entire renovation, and the pool will shut down separately once its own project gets underway early next year.
Work on the recreation building will begin in November, according to Hawaii News Now, kicking off a renovation that covers classrooms, flooring, room partitions, bathrooms and roofing. The building will remain closed throughout construction and isn't expected to reopen until spring 2027. The city awarded a $703,000 construction contract to Starcom Builders for the job, alongside a $140,354 consulting contract with Ushijima Architects.
Pool Deck Work Follows in January
Once the recreation building project is underway, attention shifts to the park's 25-yard pool. Repairs to the deck surrounding the pool are scheduled to begin in January 2027, with the pool expected to reopen by February 2027, weather permitting, per the same report. The pool deck repairs are being handled through a mix of in-house DPR maintenance staff and contracted work, with a $48,000 contract awarded to Concrete Coatings Hawaii for the project. The pool work is part of the park's planned repairs.
The projects will repair and renovate facilities at the Urban Honolulu park.
A Pattern of Pool Closures Across Oahu
McCully's pool isn't the only Oahu facility to go dark for repairs in recent years. The Manoa pool closed for its own maintenance project and reopened in June 2025, with a $485,000 contract awarded to Peterson Construction for that earlier phase, according to Spectrum News. A second phase of work there, which included replacing diving blocks and repairing bleachers and the pool surface, was expected to wrap by February 2026. That diving block replacement was funded in part by a $67,000 donation from the Mamizuka ‘Ohana. At the time of that report, McCully's pool was still open even as Manoa's was shut down — a status that is now reversing as McCully's own repairs move forward.
Separately, a Japanese School/Multipurpose Building Improvements project was also solicited for McCully District Park, according to a listing from HigherGov. It is a distinct project from the recreation building and pool deck renovations now underway.
What Park Users Can Expect
For regulars at McCully District Park, the next several months mean adjusting to a facility with reduced amenities. The recreation building closure covers everything from classrooms to bathrooms, while the pool deck project will take the 25-yard pool fully offline once it starts. Both reopenings are currently targeted for early 2027, though the pool's timeline carries the added caveat of weather and site conditions.
