The sound of wheels hitting concrete blends with bursts of laughter and cheers.
At the heart of Downtown Santa Ana, an alleyway, once used as a trash enclosure and turnaround for delivery trucks, has been transformed into the city’s newest skate park. The space between the Frida Cinema and the city-owned parking garage on 5th and Spurgeon Street is now a place for the community.
“(The alleyway) wasn’t bringing any benefit to the city or the downtown,” said Ryan Chase, the real estate developer behind the project. “And so we thought, maybe we could activate this.”
The roughly $250,000 project was funded by the real estate developer and his family, who will also cover maintenance costs as part of a license agreement with the city, which owns the property.
“Santa Ana in particular lacks a lot of green or open space, and you know, a skate park is still a park,” he said. “People might think of it like an urban or concrete park, but it provides an alternative for kids that don’t maybe have as many options.”
Chase said he drew inspiration from cities such as Long Beach, Austin and even Paris — where local skate parks are linked to the vibrancy of the downtown community. “It brings energy to a downtown and a kind of cool vibe,” said Chase, who owns property in the east end district between 3rd and 5th street – as well as property along French and Bush streets.
Kyle Berard, a skate park designer with Front Rock Concrete, said the central location “has a different feel,” one that adds character and sets it apart from more suburban skate parks.
Although the project was approved in 2018, construction plans were delayed by “unforeseen circumstances,” city officials said previously. And efforts to build the skate park had begun years prior, said Chase, who described the 15-year project as a “labor of love.”
The East End Skate Park officials opened to the public after a ceremony Friday, Sept. 5.