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Duarte Council approves $700,000 to secure parking and pave the way for SkyZone at Town Center North
Summary
The Duarte City Council accepted a letter of intent and authorized a $700,000 budget amendment to acquire parking and access rights and fund initial improvements at Town Center North, a move staff says is needed to make the SkyZone trampoline-and-family-entertainment tenant feasible.
The Duarte City Council voted to accept a letter of intent and approve a $700,000 budget amendment to secure shared parking and access rights at the Town Center North shopping center, a step officials said is needed to enable a SkyZone family‑entertainment tenant to occupy a long‑vacant anchor space.
City Community Development Director Craig Hensley told the council the center has been a redevelopment challenge for decades because of fractured ownership and long-term vacancies. He said three of four property owners have changed in the last five years, bringing renewed interest; staff recommended acquiring parking and access rights and entering an access/parking agreement so future buyers of the corner site would share maintenance and parking with the rest of the center.
"We recommend that the city council accept the letter of intent ... and also authorize the city manager to sign an access and parking agreement," Hensley said, summarizing staff's request for the council to approve the budget amendment using town‑center community benefit funds.
SkyZone representatives described the tenant as an active‑entertainment operator that anchors family‑oriented uses, provides party and youth programming, and typically creates local jobs. Mohammed Zia, a master franchisee for SkyZone, said the venues host birthday parties, school events and other family activities and employ many local teens.
Council members framed the action as a long‑sought first step toward revitalizing the center. Several members praised Red Mountain Group — the property partner working with the city — and described the item as a catalytic investment that will fund lighting, landscaping, parking reconfiguration and façade upgrades needed to get the tenant in and make the center more attractive to other businesses.
The motion to accept the letter of intent, authorize an access and parking agreement and approve a $700,000 budget amendment carried unanimously. Councilmember Finley moved the measure.
The next steps, staff said, are to execute the access agreement, complete parking and façade improvements and coordinate tenant build‑out, subject to permits and construction timelines. Hensley cautioned the council that parts of the work — including certain building structural upgrades — will take months to complete and that the $700,000 covers the city’s initial share of parking and site improvements rather than full redevelopment costs.
