JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — More than one year after construction started, the Artist Walk Skatepark is now officially open in Jacksonville’s Riverside area.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, District 7 City Councilman Jimmy Peluso, and project stakeholders cut the ribbon on Thursday morning.
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“Between this park, the artist walk, the Riverside Arts Market, the riverwalk that’s right here, the Emerald Trail, this is the central point now. And I love that,” Peluso said.
Action News Jax first told you about the plans in 2022, but underground utilities forced crews to re-design the skate park area.
The project marks the first skate park opened in Jacksonville west of the St. Johns River.
For skaters who showed out for the opening Thursday morning, like Cass Plummer and Alexis Tucker, the park takes the hassle out of practicing their favorite hobby.
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“Normally you have to go to the beach side or Arlington to skate something like this,” Plummer said. “But it’s really nice that they linked up with California parks to bring something here to downtown Riverside which is closer home to us, for us to have something nice.”
“It’s definitely long overdue,” Tucker said.
With the park’s artistic touches, including skateable letters throughout that spell “JAX,” as well as phase two of the project set to bring an art walk right alongside it, the venue should allow skaters and families alike to enjoy a fitting piece of Riverside culture.
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“Only in Riverside can we take this hulking mass of concrete and steel and turn it into something awesome and creative,” Peluso said.
“Skateboarding and art go hand in hand so I think overall it’s awesome, it’s really good,” Plummer said.
According to a sign on the construction site’s fence, phase two of the project is set to be completed in summer of 2025.
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