Ninja Academy set for San Mateo

“It’s very much for kids and adults alike. It’s not just for one or the other,” Fletcher said. The more time I started watching competitions, what I found to be really cool is it’s a totally level playing field for men and women, boys and girls. There aren’t separate categories when they have competitions.”

Ninja Academy will have daily classes, unstructured training and birthday parties, including “Junior Gym” for preschool children, “Ninja Warrior” classes for youth, adult beginners and professionals, weekend birthday parties, a discount local hour for neighborhood residents and prioritized local hiring. The facility would be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

“I really want the residents to see the Ninja Republic as something that’s a part of their neighborhood. It’s not just in San Mateo,” Fletcher said.

The San Mateo Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the project at its June 28 meeting, issuing a special use permit because it is a commercial recreation site not designated for the zoning area. Commissioner John Ebneter was absent. The city did not hold a preliminary application or study session meeting because the project is under 10,000 square feet. The building is at the corner of Leslie Street and 17th Avenue, and the space is 7,570 square feet.

“I think this is a fantastic amenity for the neighborhood and, to me, it seems the use is sufficiently similar to the previous use,” Commissioner Seema Patel said.

Fletcher said the square footage, height, location in central San Mateo and use as a dance studio made it a perfect place. The site was formerly used by the Kirkpatrick’s School of Dance. The building will feature a party area, a junior ninja area, carpet, crash pads, cargo nets, unstable bridges, tumbling dice, a spin cycle and other obstacles. The new business will offer physical fitness activities, games and obstacles on specialized equipment for all age groups. The site has Hayward Park Caltrain Station to the east and service commercial and wholesale uses to the south, west and the north across 17th Avenue. The academy will have a shared parking agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 617. The union uses the site and is the owner. Ninja Academy will get 22 spaces on weekdays and 42 on weekends out of the total 46 spaces. Because the building is in a transit-oriented area and next to a Caltrain station, the commission encouraged more bike spaces and public transit use to encourage more biking and walking to the recreation site.

“I think you will get lots of families or adults biking to this location because it’s very bikeable,” Chair Margaret Williams said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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