Old Fry’s building to see new life with Urban Air adventure
CONCORD, CA (May 16, 2024) — Urban Air Adventure Park promises an extreme experience – from 40-foot climbing walls to a “huge” zipline and a 38-foot play structure that owner Yvonne Lin calls “the greatest jungle gym ever.”
And, don’t forget the trampolines – including those with basketball hoops, one that flows into a giant airbag and pint-sized options for the smaller tykes. There will even be dodgeball courts on trampolines.
It’s like the Willow’s old Jungle on steroids.
After a year and half of design and permitting, Lin and husband Boris Itin started construction in December 2023 in half of the large building formerly occupied by Fry’s Electronics. They are hoping to open in late summer or early fall.
‘Innovator by nature’
It will be the fourth Urban Air in California, with other locations in Sacramento, Fullerton and Hanford. “It’s a franchise but it’s not like the way McDonald’s is a franchise, so each owner has a lot of flexibility,” says Lin, an innovator by nature.
“I’ve done everything from designing cars for Nissan to designing water bottles for Gatorade and working with the United Nations in different countries like Tanzania and South Sudan to increase vaccination rates,” she says.
The inspiration for the new venture is simple. “I have a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old, so we’re constantly looking for a place where they can run around and scream and wear themselves out. And, you know, I feel like my husband and I are just big kids,” says Lin, whose enthusiasm and sense of adventure is apparent even in a phone interview.
Both Lin and Itin have coached ski teams, and Itin – a scientist by trade – is also a mountaineer and rock climber. “We’ve spent a fair amount of time around kids and sports,” Line notes.
The 50,000 sq. ft. facility will also feature laser tag, a double-layer rope course that requires a harness and a smaller version for kids, Ninja Warrior obstacle runs along with a battle beam, plus rooms for birthday parties and a café offering favorites like pizza, wings and Icees.
Yup, that should wear out the little ones – and their parents, too.
Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.