Skatepark dream moves closer to reality
December 15, 2024 | By Belle McDougall After five years of planning, the new Waterbury skatepark for Hope Davey Park is nearing the final phase of its $250,000 fundraising campaign.
A design rendering of the new skatepark being planned for Hope Davey Park in Waterbury Center. Image courtesy of the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition. More at waterburyskateparkvt.org.
We are excited to bring a skatepark back to Waterbury. We know skateboarding is more than just a sport – it’s a community. Skateboarding is a powerful way for kids and people of all ages to build resilience and confidence, enhance their well-being, and create long-lasting relationships. The Waterbury Skatepark Coalition would like to update the community on what’s to come at Hope Davey Park next summer.
As with most skatepark projects, it takes a group of focused, devoted community-minded folks to make these things happen. A vision is articulated; a leadership team confers; new friendships are created; a commitment to succeed evolves; a new understanding of civic engagement emerges and the reality of fundraising for such an expensive project begins. To date, we have raised $190,000 in pledges and donations. Thank you!
Skateboarders got in their final rides at the original Hope Davey park skatepark in October 2023 before it was demolished. The well-worn structure had been in use since 2010. File photo by Gordon Miller
Building a proper concrete skatepark in Waterbury was the brainchild of Jake Blauvelt who was born and raised in Waterbury Center and now lives on Sweet Road with his family. Jake is a professional snowboarder and skateboard enthusiast. In 2020 Jake started an event called Blauvelt’s Banks which is a banked slalom competition for snowboarders at Bolton Valley Resort every March. Over the last three years, Jake has donated the profits from the event to the skatepark project and we are looking forward to the event in 2025. (See more about that online at blauveltsbanks.com.)
Although early plans focused on creating the new park near the ice center, ongoing flooding issues that continue to affect that parcel led the coalition to decide to build back better at the Hope Davey location where Waterbury’s original skatepark was dismantled in the fall of 2023.
Creating a plan
In 2021 an anonymous local donor made a $50,000 donation to the skatepark project which energized the coalition to move forward. In September 2023 the town of Waterbury completed a new master plan for Hope Davey Park that provides a blueprint for the new skatepark space, new playground, ADA-accessible pathways, and improvements to parking, ballfields, the disc golf trail network, and a renovated community pavilion. With this vision and significant momentum, the skatepark coalition started a robust capital campaign to raise the remaining funds.
Over the last two years, the coalition has been working with Geoff Hall, a local skatepark designer and concrete contractor with professional experience building skateparks throughout the U.S. Geoff’s company Standard Construction has been instrumental in helping to design the new park at Hope Davey. Beautiful renderings of the park created by coalition team member Jake Ferreira are on our website, waterburyskateparkvt.org.
This design view of the proposed skatepark looks east across Hope Davey park’s playing fields. Image courtesy of the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition
Other fundraising & milestones
Inspired by the success of Revitalizing Waterbury’s Stowe Street alley project in memory of Jack Carter, our vision for a whimsical, engraved brick walkway project at the skatepark has raised over $11,500 since 2023. There are 85 more engraved bricks to sell for the project. Priced at $100 each, the bricks are an affordable way to support the project while honoring someone special in your life. Don’t miss this opportunity! Details are online at bricksrus.com/donorsite/waterburyskates.
This past summer the skatepark coalition accepted a $10,000 donation from Waterbury resident Curtis Fox who organized a wildly successful GoFundMe campaign in memory of his childhood friend Ryan Yacavoni. A memorial bench for Ryan will be installed at the park thanks to this exceptional grassroots effort. We are extremely grateful to everyone who supported this undertaking.
Another important part of our fundraising strategy has been to connect with local business sponsors and foundations that recognize the value of having a beautiful, new skatepark in town and want to support the youth and families of our community. We have raised roughly $30,000 from local businesses and foundations for the park and this effort continues. If your business would like to be a sponsor, please contact the coalition at waterburyskatepark@gmail.com. A big thank you to all of the local sponsors who have stepped up to support the project to date.
Most recently in October, the Waterbury Development Review Board approved the park’s design and construction plans. The new 5,000-sq.ft. skatepark will be built in the same location as the original park – behind the Maple Street fire station with a new basketball court adjacent. The skatepark’s budget will also include improved landscaping to add shaded areas and three donated memorial benches. Based on the new master plan, the town will improve the green space and parking lot behind the fire station to provide access to this multi-use recreation area.
Looking ahead to construction in 2025, the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition continues to collaborate with the town to finalize the details and funding for these recreational assets at Hope Davey Park. The coalition intends to contribute $230,000-$240,000 towards the project but this will depend on our fundraising efforts over the next six months.
Meanwhile, the Waterbury Select Board is currently discussing town support for the skatepark from some remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds or revenue from new local option taxes which could get the project closer to the finish line by June.
We are excited to bring this amazing recreation asset to our community. We hope the community agrees! Please consider supporting the campaign either online or by check made to: FORWARD-Waterbury Skatepark, P.O. Box 244, Waterbury Center, VT 05677. See more details about the project at waterburyskateparkvt.org.
Happy Holidays from the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition!
Waterbury Center resident Belle McDougall is the fundraising chair for the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition.