A view from above the Waterbury Skatepark site at Hope Davey Park with construction in progress. Photo by Gordon Miller
A five-year push to get Waterbury a modern skatepark is nearing the finish line with construction now underway at Hope Davey Park.
Geoff Hall, owner of Catamount Skateparks in Warren, can be found at the site behind the Maple Street fire station at the Waterbury Center park, working in with a small excavator to shape the footprint for what will be a concrete skatepark.
The spot was the home of the town’s first skatepark from 2010 until 2023. The original wooden skateboard structure was small; it had reached the end of its useful life, and it was deteriorating before it was torn down in October 2023.
For the past five or so years, a fervent group of skateboarding enthusiasts has been pursuing a collective dream of building a modern facility to take Waterbury’s skateboarding opportunities to a higher level. Originally envisioning building such a park downtown near the Ice Center, the grassroots Waterbury Skatepark Coalition members shifted their focus to the Hope Davey site when it became clear that the original skatepark structure had to go.
The price tag and fundraising effort involved also better matched the smaller location. As a result, the project broke ground on July 8 on what will be a 6,000-square-foot skatepark, more than twice the size of the original.
Hall, who has designed and built multiple skateparks, says that this is the smallest project his company has been involved with to date, but he’s certain it will be a big improvement.
“It’s small, but we’re packing a lot of fun into this site,” he said.
Most of the facility will be constructed out of concrete, making it durable and giving it a much longer lifespan than the original wooden skatepark structure, he noted.
Tami Bass, a lead member of the coalition, says the project was designed with both beginner skateboarders, experienced skaters, and spectators in mind.
“We wanted it ADA accessible and suitable for beginners as well as advanced skaters,” Bass said. “It will have lots of fun stuff. We’ve really packed a punch into this little 6,000-square-foot park.”
FUNDRAISING CONTINUES
The Waterbury Skatepark Coalition has worked hard to raise the funds to design and build the park. The coalition’s fundraising through events, grants, and appeals to large and small donors were all focused on covering the costs to design and build the new park.
Coalition leader Belle McDougall said the group has nearly reached its ultimate $268,000 goal. An engraved-brick fundraiser is still in progress with the hope of raising the remaining $5,000-$7,000 for the final landscaping touches. Similar to the brick fundraiser done recently for the Jack’s Alley project on Stowe Street, bricks to be used in a walkway at the skatepark can be purchased by supporters for a $100 tax-deductible donation and engraved with a short message. Details are on the coalition’s website. Supporters can also make tax-deductible donations separate from brick purchases, McDougall noted.
Being constructed within Hope Davey Park, the skatepark, once completed, will be part of the town park’s features, explained Waterbury Recreation director Katarina Lisaius.
Bass emphasized, however, that “not a penny” of taxpayer money is being used for the park design and construction. The Waterbury Select Board approved allocating just over $32,000 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act pandemic-relief funding to the Recreation Department. From that, about $20,000 will be used to rebuild the Hope Davey basketball court beside the skatepark. Bass said the town also will provide some in-kind assistance with details such as reseeding the grass parking area near the finished skatepark.
The project design does not include creating any additional parking near the skatepark. The grassy area adjacent to it will be marked for parking, and the engraved bricks will be used to create a path connecting it to the skatepark. Users can also park in the existing Hope Davey lots along Maple Street and Loomis Hill Road, Bass noted. The paved parking lot beside the skatepark is reserved for the Waterbury Fire Department and those spots are clearly marked.
Lisaius and Bass say they are working together on wording for signs at the new skatepark to inform users about safety rules such as wearing helmets and protective gear, noting how there’s no skating allowed after dark, and respectful use of the park in general.
“We want it to be friendly: This is your park, take care of it, respect it, be kind,” Bass said.
In planning the park, Bass said organizers have visited multiple other skateparks, and she remarked on how a certain etiquette prevails. “It’s a very respectful sport. They take turns,” she said. “The skaters watch each other. The more advanced help the newer skaters. It’s not a free-for-all.”
Hall is now working on the construction full-time with the goal of having much of the park built by the end of August. Bass said the skatepark group is communicating with Waterbury Youth Soccer, given that the fall soccer season gets underway after Labor Day, with Hope Davey one of the parks used for weekday practices and Saturday games. She said they will aim to have the construction site as contained as possible by then to not take up too much adjacent space.
Once it’s completed, there likely will be a small celebration to open the skatepark and mark the milestone, Bass said, adding, “It’s been five years in the making.” A few weeks ago, Bass said she looked back on her calendar thinking about the project and saw that July 6, 2020, had an initial meeting for the new skatepark coalition. “This July 6, we were putting the [construction] fence up,” she said.
Find more information, including fundraising details and design drawings of the skatepark, online at waterburyskateparkvt.org.
