HUNTINGTON BEACH – The city has agreed to find a place for a minimum of 175 affordable homes to allow for the Vans skate park to start construction.

City Council members at their meeting Monday approved removing language that said the nearly 3 acres of land at Center Avenue near Gothard Street had to be slated for housing.

The city owns the land and has agreed to find places for affordable homes or apartment units.

The park would have a 14,000-square-foot skate park plaza, a 13,000-square-foot skate bowl and a 3,500-square-foot skate shop and concession stand. There will also be various landscaped areas, parking and a dedicated transit reserve area, which may possibly be a public transportation stop in the future, officials say.

Steve Van Doren, Vans vice president of events and promotions, said when the park was approved in January that he hoped to have the park built this summer.

The company has roots in Orange County, including Huntington Beach, so it’s an appropriate location for the park, Van Doren said. His father started Vans in the ’60s and the enterprise quickly grew to include dozens of stores across the county.

“Maybe one day it will be known as Surf and Skate City,” he said at a previous meeting.

Huntington Beach will be Vans’ second skate park in the county.

Vans’ indoor skate park at the Block at Orange opened in 1998 and in 2008 underwent a renovation to revamp its facilities, according to Skateboarder Magazine.

The Block location has a 20,000-square-foot indoor street course that includes stairs, rails and ledges. The location also has a Combi pool, which is 12 feet deep, an area for beginners, mini ramps, an outdoor street course and an arcade, according to Vans.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7953 or jfletcher@ocregister.com

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