ENCINITAS — All of the skateboarders taking part in the fundraising efforts are starting to see their efforts come to fruition with the renovations at the Magdalena Ecke YMCA skate park.
While full construction on the $680,000 renovation project is yet to begin, some teardown and demolition has started in the last couple of weeks, including the removal of 40 feet of the park’s iconic vert ramp. Most of the park’s mini-land area has also been cleared away in preparations for the work to begin.
While awaiting final details from the city on when they can begin, the only other work being done now is strictly cosmetic with the replacing of coping around the kidney pool, which will now be called the SPY pool after the Carlsbad-based company SPY donated money to become a sponsor.
Once the skate park is able to break ground, they’ll begin work on the mini-land area, explained Roby Trada, skate park director.
“The park is going to be the same size,” Trada said, “We’re going to be opening it up. The mini-land section…is going to be three times bigger than it was before; we’re still going to have 80 feet of vert ramp, and then the street course will be the same size but will be…below surface.”
The ramps and other features on the street course and mini-land will be a mix of 80 percent cement and 20 percent wood.
That will allow the skate park the flexibility to alter the features, Trada explained. “One month we can have a certain feature and then the next month we can have another feature. So it keeps it fresh. Once you go all cement, you’re stuck, you can’t really do much,” he added.
Trada credits Site Design and California Ramps for coming up with the idea to have interchangeable features in the parks.
The skate park is still accepting donations to help with the renovations and still has sponsorship opportunities available.
The renovations are hoped to be completed by the end of fall this year.
