Skate park plans rolling along

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Locations for the ramps, rails and half-pipes of the city’s

skate park will be mapped out by early summer, the project’s lead

architect said Tuesday.

At its last meeting, the City Council hired Fullerton-based

purkiss*rose-rsi to design the municipal skate park, which will cover

about 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. The city budgeted $250,000 for the

project.

The firm, which has planned skate parks in Irvine, Laguna Niguel and

Mission Viejo, will charge the city nearly $40,000 for the plans.

In coming weeks, the designers will hold public workshops, allowing local

skaters and residents to help design the park, architect Stephan D. Rose

said.

Rose said they would finish the blueprints about nine weeks after the

final public design workshop.

In January, the City Council chose to build the park on a vacant lot at

the corner of Charle and Hamilton streets. It had also considered

TeWinkle Park, TeWinkle Middle School, Costa Mesa High School and

Estancia High School.

A group of residents, including Parks Commissioner Mike Scheafer, have

opposed the Charle Street location. They say the site, which is in a

primarily residential and commercial neighborhood, is too far away from

other parks.

“We think the city may change its mind once the plans come back,” said

Scheafer, who founded the grass-roots Citizens for a Quality Skate Park.

“I have a feeling they’ll figure out it’s far more expensive at that

location than in other places in the city.”