Updated 1:12 p.m. June 3.
A public skatepark in State College will at last become a reality after years of discussion and planning.
Borough Council on Monday unanimously approved a $1.37 million contract with New Line Skateparks FL, Inc. to construct the Action Sports Park at High Point Park on Whitehall Road, which will include facilities for skateboards, scooters and bikes. The bid was less than the estimated cost of $1.45 million.
The work will be phase 2 of the project and will include construction of the concrete structure and other physical features of the park. Council in May approved a $568,339 contract with WG Land Company LLC to perform site work as phase 1.
New Line, which previously developed technical designs for the skatepark in collaboration with professional skateboarder and State College native Jake Johnson, was the only bidder on the project, according to information included in the agenda for Monday’s council meeting.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said in May that few contractors specialize in skatepark construction, and that two had initially bid on the project when it was first let. The project had to be re-advertised with conditions of the borough’s new Responsible Contractor Ordinance waived, however, because neither bidder met the required provisions, and New Line was subsequently the only bid received.
Crews broke ground on Tuesday for site work and the full build out will take place in the summer and fall. Completion is expected by January.
Funding for the project includes more than $1 million in grants, borough funds and money from a volunteer committee-led fundraising campaign.
The committee worked with the borough, Centre Region Parks and Recreation and community members since 2018 on planning, design and fundraising to help make the park a reality.
“A huge thank you to everyone who helped us reach our fundraising goal,” Brad Groznik, a volunteer on the committee, said. “We are thrilled that our community recognizes the need for a skatepark so kids of all ages can learn and build their skills. We believe the park will be a destination for locals and out-of-town visitors, and we can’t wait to see it operating next year,”
The wheelchair-accessible facility will replace the unused baseball field at High Point Park, taking up about 3 acres of the 6-acre lot. It will be designed for all skill levels with amenities for park and street-style riding with ledges, stairs, rails, banks, a mini-ramp area, a brick volcano, quarterpipe, planting areas with boulders for seating spots and a center courtyard with a large granite pad.
The upper part of the design is a plaza-style park for skateboarders while the lower elevation has been refined to better support scooters and bikes. The surrounding area will be landscaped to be enjoyable for all, with or without wheels.
Jake Johnson and his father, Tim, a professor emeritus of landscape architecture at Penn State, designed the concept for the park and enlisted New Line Skateparks to develop final technical designs and construction plans.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of the High Point Skatepark project. Growing up skating in State College, we never had a truly designated space to call our own — now, that’s changing in a big way,” Johnson said. “This park isn’t just sculpted concrete, it’s a launching pad for community, creativity, and athletics. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been skating for all your life, the park is designed to welcome and challenge everyone. The flow, the layout, the thought that went into every lane and pocket — it all encourages safe progression and spontaneous style. I’m proud to help make this dream become a reality.”
An ad hoc committee convened in 2017 ultimately recommended High Point Park as the site after the initial plan for Orchard Park was met with objections by neighboring residents.
“It was an extensive process with a lot of information, a lot of data. A lot of folks came forward with ideas,” Council President Evan Myers, who chaired the ad hoc committee, said on Monday. “And it’s nice to see this moving forward to fruition.”
The underutilized High Point Park was selected in part because it’s accessible by bus, bike path and car, less than a mile from State College Area High School, Delta and Corl Street Elementary and 1.7 miles from the center of downtown.
Emerson Rand, the State College Area School District student representative to council, is happy to see the project moving forward.
“I’d like to thank council for passing the funds for the High Point skatepark. That’s something I’m very passionate about,” Rand said. “There’s not enough places in town for teens and young adults to hang out and have fun, and this is a great step in the right direction.”
It’s been a long road to the development since a skatepark was first proposed in 2013 to the Centre Region Council of Government Parks Capital Committee by BMX legend and local resident Jamie Bestwick. Borough staff began looking into the project the following year and it had been a part of capital improvement plans ever since.
Since the site was selected, the volunteer committee worked with the borough to secure grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of Community and Economic Development, Hamer Foundation, Centre Foundation and skateboard legend Tony Hawk’s “The Skatepark Project.” It also received more than $100,000 in local donations from individuals and businesses.
“We want to thank the Borough Council, borough staff, State Representatives Scott Conklin and Paul Takac, Centre Foundation and the hundreds of community donors for their support and help allocating critical funding to this project,” said Gordon Kauffman III, who leads the volunteer committee.
