City enters agreement for skate park

The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously Friday to enter into a lease agreement with Vans to develop, run and maintain a free, world-class skate park.

VF Outdoor Inc., a subsidiary of Vans’ parent VF Corp., will lease the 2.7 acres on Center Avenue near Gothard Street for $1 a year for 20 years, with two 10-year options to renew, according to a city staff report.

In exchange, Vans will build a state-of-the-art skate park that will operate all day and not only provide a place for recreational youth activities but also put on large entertainment events that are expected to attract thousands of visitors to the city.

The skate park is expected to include a 12,000-square-foot skate plaza, a 15,000-square-foot skate bowl area, a walking space and a shop. It will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and host about 15 large and 12 small events throughout the year.

The large events are expected to go on for more than two days and attract thousands of visitors. The smaller events would last for a weekend and attract about 300 to 500 people.

The city is still in the process of preparing a project-specific environmental impact report, which must be approved before the skate park is built, according to the staff report.

The council also voted to sell the site of Big O Tires at 7872 Edinger Ave. to Campbell Lodging Inc. for the construction of a hotel, which will be part of the Beach and Edinger Specific Plan.

The sale of the 1.9 acres is expected to bring the city $3.3 million, according to a city staff report.

Campbell Lodging will construct a hotel with 120 to 140 rooms. The company runs well-known hotels such as the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn & Suites and Hilton Garden Inn.

The council also approved a five-year lease agreement with the Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau to continue to operate the International Surfing Museum.

The city is expected to received $3,000 for the first year for leasing the 411 Olive Ave. site and $6,000 the second year, with a price increase in subsequent years based on the consumer price index, according to a city staff report.

mona.shadia@latimes.com

Twitter: @MonaShadia