Rochester, N.Y. – The new skate park would be built under the Frederick Douglas, Susan B. Anthony Bridge.The park would be more than 70,000 square feet; expected to provide a mixture of traditional and modern trends.
“Terrain like bowls and pools and ramps that people are used to seeing but it's also going to have space that looks more like an urban plaza with steps and handrails; the type of stuff that the skaters and BMXers really use,” Friends of the Roc City Skatepark Executive Director Alan Presutti said.
Presutti and his group have been pushing this project for years.
If approved, nearly $50,000 will go towards a feasibility study and site plans.
“It's nice to be given a chance to prove that this is a viable option for the city and help be one of the puzzle pieces to making the city better,” Presutti said.
Brian Potter has been skating for 12 years.
He says he wishes there was a park like this around when he was younger.
“It's kind of hard sometimes. You're just trying to go out and have some fun but everyone kind of looks at it like it's a problem," Potter said. “We don't really have a place to go in the city.”
Soon skaters will have a place to go. Construction could start in 2015.
“It's awesome. I can't wait for it, there's nothing really like it in Rochester so it's a big step for us,” Potter said.
The total price tag for the project is expected to be around $2.5 million.
While that price is not set in stone, the feasibility study is expected to firm up cost estimates.
Roc City Skatepark continues fundraising efforts for the proposed park.
So far, the group has raised $80,000.
The feasibility study and the design work are expected to be completed by this summer.
