For P33M, Manila eyes 2nd public skate park

The manila city government on Friday announced that it would build a new public skate park in Tondo, four months after a similar facility, a first in the city, was opened in Paco.

In a statement, Mayor Joseph Estrada said the 1,800-sqm, P33-million Vitas Skate Park would be the city’s second publicly funded skate plaza and would also be maintained by the local government.

The first park, the 1,700-sqm Manila Skate Plaza at Canonigo Sports Complex in Paco, was inaugurated in December 2015.

In an interview, engineer Henry Alcantara, assistant chief of the Office of the City Engineer’s design division, said the skate plaza’s contractor, MC Geometric Proportions Inc. (MCGPI), would try its best to have the new park’s main skating areas and wall-climbing facility ready for a “soft opening” before the May 9 elections.

Based on its website (mcgeometric.com), MCGPI is a company based in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

The site for Vitas Skate Park used to be a children’s playground. The new facility will also feature a two-level building for house rehearsal and recording studios for musicians, as well as a dance studio. A mini amphitheater is also in the works.