Talent Skatepark to reopen at Burton headquarters

A former South Burlington skatepark is making a comeback with a new business model and indoor location at the Burton campus in Burlington.

Talent Skatepark closed its doors for what business owners thought would be the final time last year.

"Not knowing enough on how to pull out of the 2008 slump, and get us back on our feet we ended up just being unsuccessful at recovery," said Hannah Wood, the parks owner.

So the business transformed into a nonprofit and is getting help from Burton Snowboards, moving into a vacant factory facility on the Burton campus..

"By the end of November a group of parents had already gotten us established, and then moving forward we've been in this building about a month now just trying to bust everything out," Wood said.

Both businesses have collaborated before, working with CHILL, a nonprofit that gives kids access to board sports. Burton officials say they're happy to help an old friend.

"It just seemed like the most obvious fit," said Burton's Mike Casey. "When Talent went out of business and became homeless and we heard they were trying to re-invent themselves, for the last handful of years we've been looking for some creative use to do with some of the extra space that we have in that building."

The new skatepark is scheduled to open in a few weeks. "We want to have our first opening hopefully the first week in December -- it'll be phase one. I don't know if we'll have every ramp built, but in a way, that's good, because we can feel what they are missing, what they desire, and really, really make it what people are looking for," Wood said.

So they can ride the rails before Christmas.