DIDSBURY - Construction on Didsbury’s new $350,000 skatepark will get underway in mid-June, following more than four years of planning and fundraising, officials said Friday.
The new facility will be located on the grounds of the Didsbury Memorial Complex just east of the existing Aquatic Centre. It will be constructed by New Line Skateparks.
Site work for the construction will begin in mid-May with main construction getting underway a month later, weather permitting.
It is expected to take about 12 weeks to complete the project.
Didsbury council approved the park as a capital project for 2021 at its Jan. 26 meeting.
The project is being funded through a provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant of $125,000, donations, gifts-in-kind, and municipal grant sources.
The project was spearheaded by the founding youth members of the Didsbury Sk8park Society: Riley Lodermeier, Seth Kirk, Reid Nichols and Roman Enns.
In a joint press release from the society and the Town of Didsbury issued Friday, officials said the four youth founding members’ “vision of having a safe, permanent skatepark for Didsbury youth to access was the driving force behind the project’s success.”
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Society members worked with contracted fundraising firm Jordan Cleland Consulting to achieve the bulk of the donation and to secure the CFEP grant funding.
“Perseverance pays off,” officials said. “Thank you to everybody who supported and participated in this project over the last several years. Special thanks to Jordan Cleland for all his hard work and support. We are excited to see a dedicated place for the community kids o express themselves in action sports.”
Mayor Rhonda Hunter commended the youths and others involved in the project. She called the new park a “valuable project for Didsbury.”
“We look forward to celebrating with these four young men and with our community this fall when the facility opens,” said Hunter. “Any day the we can add a new recreation facility to our community for the enjoyment of youth and, in this case, some adults, is a great day.
“It is even more impactful when the idea comes from our youth who have the intent and are on a mission to enhance recreation options for our community, for the opportunity for their fellow skateboarders to have a place to gather and participate in a sport that brings them together.”
