What You Need to Know:��

• Grand opening marks completion of Phase 1 in a full campus reconstruction at��Mōkapu��Elementary School on Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi.��

• Phase 1 delivered a new two-story administration/library building and a two- and three-story classroom complex with 55 classrooms and support spaces.��

• Work began in January 2023 while the existing campus remained operational; instruction is transitioning into the new facilities after winter break.��

• Phase 2 will demolish remaining older buildings and add a cafetorium, covered��playcourts, a learning courtyard and��additional��parking.��

• Project funding includes about $116.5 million in Department of Defense grants (about 80%) with the state covering the remaining 20%.��

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KAILUA, Hawai’i — Mōkapu Elementary School is starting the year in new spaces after completing the first phase of a campus rebuild at Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi, where the school serves military-dependent students from Marine families.��

The blessing and dedication ceremony drew lawmakers, military��partners��and community members for tours of the new facilities, according to an article from the��Hawai‘i State Department of Education.��

The first phase of the approximately $147 million project replaces��large portions��of a campus that originally opened in 1960. Delivered in Phase 1 are a two-story administration and library building and a two- and three-story classroom complex with 55 classrooms and support spaces, with capacity for��nearly 1,000��students, the department said.��

“What we’re celebrating today is a school that’s better equipped for how teaching and learning happen now — spaces that encourage collaboration, creativity and a sense of belonging, while also honoring the role this campus plays in the broader community,” Hawaiʻi State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said, according to��.��

For AEC teams, the phasing plan is a key part of the delivery story. Construction began in January 2023, with the former campus��remaining��fully operational during the build.��The new structures were placed on an open section of the 14.2-acre site that had been used as playfields, a running track and outdoor courts.��Following winter break, classroom operations began transitioning into��the new��facilities.��

“This beautiful new building isn’t the whole story,”��Mōkapu��Elementary Principal Brett Matsukawa said, according to��.��

Next, Phase 2 will remove remaining older facilities and build a new cafetorium, covered��playcourts, a learning courtyard and��additional��parking.��

The��Hawai‘i State Department of Education said the Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation provided approximately $116.5 million — about 80% of the total project cost — with matching state funds covering the remaining 20%.��

Mōkapu��Elementary is the only public elementary school��located��on Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi, a U.S. Navy installation. The school enrolls more than 780 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and is supported by about 130 faculty and staff, according to the department.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by the��Hawai‘i State Department of Education on Jan. 6, 2026.��

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WAIPAHU, Hawaii—A groundbreaking of the highly anticipated Honowai Elementary School was recently held in Waipahu.

Lionakis Architects along with S&M Sakamoto, the general contractor on the project, and officials from the State of Hawaii and Department of Education (DOE) celebrated the event with golden shovels in tow.

��The ceremony first opened up with Kent Matsumara, the school principal, giving opening remarks and thanking the legislators, DOE officials, Lionakis and S&M Sakamoto Inc.

Kahu “Uncle” Bruce and his students then performed a traditional blessing. Those with golden shovels mixed in salt with the soil as a symbol of mixing in their spirit and hard work into the ground and then shared a few inspiring words of what this project has meant to them.

This $12 million project, which is being built on sacred lands, was widely acknowledged by all. The efforts and knowledge pouring into the project from the entire community truly reflect that understanding.

The project sits on sacred lands including approximately six acres, adjacent to a community park. The elementary school consists of a multi-phased transformation of the existing campus to prepare it for 21st-century programs and educational delivery while embracing sustainable design strategies. A new, three-story classroom building will serve the Medically Fragile and Special Education Programs, and also includes Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) lab spaces. Additionally, renovations to the existing buildings will address critical core facility deficiencies.

The campus’ architecture and the school mascot of Na Ali’i (The Chiefs) are reflective in the design and Ali’i (Chief or Royalty) was the inspiration. The capes of the Chiefs—Ahu‘ula—serve as the main design theme. Its graphic patterns and colors (specifically yellow and red) represent hierarchy within the Ali’i ruling class and their families. Ahu’ula personifies protection, as it embraces the school and seeks to ensure the sustenance, existence and growth of its students on their paths to success.

Completion is slated for July 2020.

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