A Kailua skatepark is about to benefit from a business owner’s generosity
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The skate park at Kailua District Park doesn’t have much equipment right now, but soon it will be completely transformed.
It’s all thanks to a generous donation from Chuck Mitsui and the Association of Skateboarders in Hawaii.
Mitsui, who’s also the founder of 808 Skate shop in Kailua, is donating $130,000 worth of upgrades to the city to revamp the windward Oahu park.
Construction is expected to begin later this month and according to the renderings, skaters are in line to receive a park that includes a flowing layout of ramps and rails.
“More smaller obstacles, nothing’s over three feet,” Mitsui explained. “It’s a very small space and we want to have it kind of user-friendly for beginners and the younger skaters and I think that’s who’s gonna be using it the most.”
The improvements are welcome news for park regulars.
“I actually heard about it a couple years ago and was wondering if there were ever gonna do it, so I’m stoked that they’re actually gonna finally do it,” said Kailua resident Matthew Vincent.
Mitsui has upgraded facilities across the island including in Ewa Beach, Makiki, and Keolu.
Each time, he provides the funding, design, equipment, and installation, all of which is fully permitted. All the city needs to do is give the greenlight.
“I’ve figured out how to do the process and go through it,” Mitsui said. “It’s just having the people at the top understand that this is a good thing and they should sign off on it and I’m not trying to do anything besides serve the community.”
Once the Kailua project is completed, Mitsui is targeting upgrades at the skating facility in Kahuku.
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