San Mateo ice rink to be saved.
Developer had a change of heart, decided to keep the popular Bridgepointe facility
SAN MATEO — A yearslong battle to save the beloved ice rink at Bridgepointe Shopping Center is finally over.
Instead of pursuing plans to replace the facility with retail stores, SPI Holdings LLC, the owner of the shopping center, has signed a lease with San Mateo-based real estate developer Nazareth Enterprises to reopen the rink on Sept. 1.
“This is a dream come true not only for us but for thousands of kids and skaters who will be able to skate once again very soon,” said Save the Bridgepointe Rink Citizens Group leader Dina Artzt.
The grass-roots effort to save the rink kicked off in June 2013 after SPI opted not to renew the lease held by its former operator, the Ice Center. As recently as February, the San Franciscobased firm had shown no signs of being swayed by community pressure.
In March, however, SPI had a change of heart just before the San Mateo City Council was set to consider its latest $8 million offer, which the Planning Commission had already voted to reject. The firm needed the council’s approval to replace the rink with retail stores.
“This has been a long and difficult process and I misjudged the civic devotion to the ice rink,” SPI partner Dennis Wong said in a statement.
Wong did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on the lease with Nazareth.
Officials with the firm previously said their proposal would make Bridgepointe more competitive with other shopping centers.
But rink supporters including Artzt said the facility once attracted upward of 100,000 visitors annually and helped make Bridgepointe the successful shopping center it is today.
“It’s not clear and it really doesn’t matter anymore as to why the developer changed his mind at the last minute, but the fact is that we’re going to have a beautiful rink operating for the members of our community in the very near future,” said Artzt, whose son played hockey there.
In a letter withdrawing the offer, Wong said, “Given the public demand for an ice rink demonstrated during the city’s consideration of the project, we hope to draw a viable tenant and that the ice rink will again become a vibrant part of the center and the community.”
The rink will reopen as the Nazareth Ice Oasis San Mateo. Nazareth also operates a similarly named rink in Redwood City.
San Mateo Councilman Joe Goethals said the founder and CEO of Nazareth, Mounir Kardosh, has already reached out to residents to make sure he is serving the needs of the entire ice skating community.
“He is very committed to getting this done as quickly as possible,” Goethals said about Kardosh, who could not be immediately reached for comment. “I couldn’t be happier for ice skaters in San Mateo.”
Artzt said she was happy to see the fight come to an end.
“We can forget the struggles of the past four years and just celebrate instead,” said Artzt.