The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is looking for someone to revamp and operate a campground on Oʻahu's North Shore before the park reopens in 2026.
Interested parties must submit their proposals by Sept. 30 to indicate that they have a plan for the Mālaekahana State Recreation Area. The chosen party will receive a 30-year lease in exchange for finishing the development.
The 36-acre recreation spot in Kahuku closed in 2023 for infrastructure upgrades. Alan Carpenter, the assistant administrator for the Hawaiʻi State Parks Division, said the old campgrounds and cabins were outdated, rotting — and some parts were illegal.
“It was sort of like an old beach town met plantation houses,” he said. “Time and regulation eventually caught up with us and we had to close it down. Now we’re essentially starting with a blank slate for this lessee to come in to upgrade what was already there.”
The state is investing $8 million into the project. Work has already started to install backbone infrastructure like water and electric lines, parking areas and bathrooms.
Carpenter said that due to state procurement rules, the division cannot open the application solely to local groups. However, he said that choosing an applicant with knowledge and respect for the land is taken into consideration.
“Some of the scoring is based on local knowledge, ability to understand the community, the environment, and you're going to have to give us a plan for restoration. We definitely want to keep the country, country,” Carpenter said.
The chosen applicant will not be hired by the DLNR. Carpenter said the party will more than likely have its own team of workers.
The lessee will have to invest money into the project, which Carpenter estimated will be close to a seven-figure investment, and recoup the costs through revenue brought in by the campground.
“This isn’t a comanagement thing. We’re bringing in a lessee and they will work to manage the land and serve the public for the next 30 years, with our help and guidance,” Carpenter said. “They'll be staffing it, they'll be developing it, and they'll be managing it.”
He emphasized that he’s been a park user much longer than he’s been the park administrator, so preserving the natural beauty and resources is going to remain his priority.
“It's a continuity thing, right, we're not building anything new. We're replacing outdated stuff with something that's just going to be higher quality, but very, very much the same,” he said. “We're not going to lose the charm and the experience that Mālaekahana has always been. It's just going to be modernized, compliant, legal and environmentally clean.”
