More than 1,200 Lahaina homes are in construction or permitting. Five commercial buildings on Front Street have permits. That gap is the whole story of summer 2026 in town, and it explains why the block you drive past every day still looks the way it does.
If you live here, you already know the north end has been open for a while and the historic core has not. What changed in the last week is that both ends of that sentence now have dates attached to them. A county sidewalk project got its blessing on July 1. A nonprofit-led marketplace on the old Outlets of Maui parcel got a September opening. And the five parcels that will be the first real storefronts back have addresses.
The Two-Track Recovery, In One Number
More than 1,200 homes are in construction or permitting, but Front Street's return has been slowed by complex approvals, reduced building footprints and disagreements over how historic Lahaina should be rebuilt. Set that against the commercial count. Five commercial permits have been issued for Lahaina, with one project under construction. Two commercial properties are in process, and more than 12 commercial properties are in pre-application consultation.
The county has been explicit about why the residential and commercial paths diverged. Permitting and approvals in Lahaina's historic districts are among the most heavily regulated processes in the state, involving federal, state and county rules. Lahaina was the only historic district in the state with buildings constructed over the water. That's not an excuse. It's the mechanism. A homeowner's rebuild answers to Maui County. A Front Street rebuild answers to Maui County plus state historic preservation plus federal review of anything touching the shoreline.
The five permitted commercial parcels, per the county planning update this month, are 612, 632, 714, 724, and 744 Front Street. The five properties that have received permits are all coming back identical or closely resembling how they were before the fire. If you walk the makai side from Lahainaluna to Dickenson this summer, those are the addresses to watch for scaffolding.
ʻUlu o Lele: The First Real Storefronts
The project most likely to change what Front Street feels like this fall is not a rebuild. It's an interim outdoor marketplace on the former Outlets of Maui site.
Front Street's commercial core remains largely empty almost three years after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire, but Maui County and the Hawaiian Council on Thursday unveiled an $8 million pilot marketplace that will return the first storefronts to what was once one of Hawaii's busiest economic corridors.
A few specifics worth pinning down:
- Name and meaning. ʻUlu o Lele, meaning "Growth of Lele," draws its name from Lahaina's traditional name, "Malu ʻUlu o Lele."
- Scale. 17 retail units and eight food truck spaces between 144 and 240 square feet.
- Site. Roughly 3 acres, secured on a two-year lease.
- Rents. Monthly rents are expected to range from about $800 to $1,500, depending on unit size, with the project expected to operate for about two years while permanent redevelopment continues.
- Who gets in. The marketplace will prioritize businesses directly impacted by the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires. A five-member committee made up of Lahaina community members will select the businesses that receive space.
- Funding. Being spearheaded by the Hawaiian Council with $4 million in support from the Hawaii Community Foundation.
- Timing. Reports differ on the opening month. KITV has it opening in October; the Hawaii Tribune-Herald says September. Either way, this fall.
Courtney Lazo, the Lahaina business owner who spoke at Thursday's announcement, framed the location choice in a way that residents will recognize. She said the location on the edge of Front Street offers a gentle path back for residents who have not yet been able to return to Front Street. "It allows our people to kind of inch their way back into our town … baby steps."
The Sidewalk Nobody Talked About Until Last Week
The other piece of Front Street infrastructure that moved this month is easy to walk past without registering. Construction was mostly on the makai side of Front Street from Lahainaluna Road to Dickenson Street, and the project included repairing about 1,450 feet of sidewalk and replacing approximately 700 feet of railing, as well as light poles, benches and planters.
About 150 residents and local leaders gathered for the blessing of the Front Street Railing and Walkway project on Wednesday, July 1. The reason it matters isn't the benches. It's what the benches signal to the parcel owners on that block: the county has finished its piece of the sidewalk in front of your building, so the timeline is now yours.
The North End You Already Know
For residents, the north-end restaurant list is not news. But the current lineup, as it stands this summer, is worth writing down in one place because the roster has shifted more than once since 2023.
Still operating around Cannery Mall and the shoreline strip: Aloha Mixed Plate, Mala Ocean Tavern, Honu Seafood and Pizza, Star Noodle (now in the former Frida's location on Front Street), and Coco Deck, which is a casual neighborhood bar and kitchen after the fire, formerly Duck Kine, on Front and Kapunakea streets near Cannery Mall. Inside Cannery Mall itself, Sergio's Cantina and Kaeli's are among the anchors. Old Lahaina Luau is running summer dates and has been since it became one of the first major cultural attractions to reopen after the fire.
A few relocations worth remembering when you're pointing a visiting friend around: Captain Jack's Island Grill is now at The Sands of Kahana, and Honolulu Cookie Company moved its West Maui presence to Whalers Village.
The Harbor Is Quieter Than It Looks
The commercial rebuild gets the headlines. The harbor is where the recovery has actually accelerated in the last six months, and most residents underestimate how much has come back.
Lahaina Harbor, once near capacity, was forced to close for 28 months due to structural damage and hazardous water conditions. DLNR data shows 48 companies were displaced; 12 relocated to Maʻalaea, and seven have returned since the harbor reopened Dec. 15.
Two follow-on facts to keep on the radar this summer:
- Atlantis Submarines' return in June marked a symbolic milestone. The company lost nearly all of its Maui assets in the fire, but has resumed operations with a submarine towed from Oahu and 15 returning employees.
- A $5 million maintenance dredging project at the harbor began this June and is expected to wrap up next December.
If you have friends flying in and asking whether there's anything to do out of Lahaina Harbor this summer, the answer is more than it was in December, and less than it will be by next spring.
The Banyan, Briefly
The tree earned its own paragraph this year. The Banyan Tree is alive. Arborists spent months nursing it with water, compost, and soil treatment after the fire. New growth is visible, green shoots from charred branches. The Lahaina Courthouse and Baldwin Home Museum remain closed while the Lahaina Restoration Foundation develops careful reopening plans with national preservation experts. So the tree is a walk-by right now, not a sit-under. If you want a real look at it, the harbor tour operators point it out from the water.
What Actually Changes By Fall
Three concrete markers to watch between now and Halloween:
- September or October: ʻUlu o Lele opens on the former Outlets of Maui parcel. First real storefronts back on Front Street since August 2023.
- Late summer: First vertical construction visible on at least one of the five permitted parcels between 612 and 744 Front Street.
- Ongoing through December: Harbor dredging continues, meaning more slip capacity for the operators still working out of Maʻalaea to consider coming home.
The residential rebuild has been the loud story for three years. This is the summer the commercial story starts making noise of its own. Not fast. But no longer stalled.
If you own in Lahaina and you're weighing what any of this means for your property or your plans, the team at Mark Marchello works out of Lahaina and has watched this recovery block by block. Start Your West Maui Home Search when you're ready, or reach out for a conversation that starts with your street, not a portal.