Mayor Mike Purzycki and Parks and Rec Director Kevin Kelley Say a New $600,000 Skate Park is Coming to Wilmington—Finally!!
June 13, 2019
Construction will begin in September on a concrete street plaza park with a bowl on the City’s west side at Liberty and Lower Linden Streets.
File Photo: Sponsored by Zero Gravity 22-year-old Jay Ruhl, enjoys this usually warm February afternoon in Newport Delaware doing backflips at The Newport Skate & BMX park in Newport Delaware. Photo By Saquan Stimpson
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and City Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Kelley announced today that a $600,000 skate park will be built on land given to the City by the State Transportation Department at Liberty and Lower Linden Streets near Maryland Avenue. The new skate park will be a street plaza course design with a bowl. Construction of the concrete facility is expected to begin in September once public bids for design and construction are issued this month.
File Photo: Mayor Mike Purzycki gives his 2020 fiscal year budget address during prior to a regular City Council meeting Thursday, March. 28, 2019, at Louis L. Redding City County Building in Wilmington DE. Photo By Saquan Stimpson
Mayor Purzycki said the more than half-million dollars in funding for the new park was granted to the City a few years ago by former State Senator Robert Marshall and former State Representative Helene Keeley. The Mayor said the long-delayed park will be welcome news to the local skateboarding community. Mayor Purzycki also thanked Governor John Carney, Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan and DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin for helping the City obtain the land for the new park.
Tonight at 5 p.m. a City Council Committee will consider a Resolution that will be presented to the full Council to permit the City to accept the land for the skate park from the State’s Transportation Department.
File Photo: City Council president Hanifa Shabazz conducts regular city council meeting Thursday, March. 14, 2019, at Louis L.Redding City-County Building in Wilmington, DE. Photo By Saquan Stimpson
“A skate park has been the dream of Kevin Kelley and others for more than 20 years,” said Mayor Purzycki. “It was discussed, debated, planned, shelved and revived a few times in that order in the past two decades and now we’ve finally reached the day when Kevin, as Parks and Recreation Director, has the pleasure to join me in making this announcement. We are very grateful to former Senator Marshall and former Representative Keeley who, like Kevin, never gave up hope that a skate park would be built in Wilmington.”
File Photo: Sponsored by Zero Gravity 22-year-old Jay Ruhl, enjoys this usually warm February afternoon in Newport Delaware doing backflips at The Newport Skate & BMX park in Newport Delaware. Photo By Saquan Stimpson
Kevin Kelley was a member of Wilmington City Council in 2001 when he first proposed the idea of a skate park. “It may have taken longer than any of us expected, but soon people of all ages will enjoy a new City recreational facility that will feature a long overdue skate park. My thanks to everyone who has supported this idea in the past and will assist us as we move forward.”
“We are excited that this project is finally closer to becoming a reality for the City, and are happy that we could assist with providing a safe and convenient location for the park to call home,” said Delaware Transportation Secretary Cohan.