Get ready to drop in. Tacoma skatepark is getting a long-awaited upgrade
Tacoma is on its way to becoming a more skateable city. Construction is underway to upgrade a skatepark in the city’s Eastside neighborhood where skaters will soon be able to drop in on a brand new bowl.
Parks Tacoma announced the upgrade Thursday for Stewart Heights Skatepark, 5715 Reginald Gutierrez Lane. Crews broke ground earlier this month on the 2,250-square-foot concrete bowl, and it’s expected to be completed by winter.
The project’s cost is $487,000, funded by a 2014 voter-approved bond and a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. It’s being built by Grindline Skateparks, a Seattle company that has designed and constructed skateparks around the world. It also built Kandle Skatepark in the North End and designed and constructed Norpoint Skate Plaza in Northeast Tacoma.
A number of skateparks have been built in Tacoma over the years, but some like Heidelberg-Davis in Central Tacoma have deteriorated over time and gotten crusty. Stewart Heights in its current form was built in 2008, and it too is getting old. According to Parks Tacoma, Ryan Spence, a local advocate for skateboarding, is fundraising to do restoration work.
“It’s an important facility and has had a loyal following for years,” Spence, 48, said. “This work will allow it to be a community hub again.”
The upgrade is a long time coming. When Stewart Heights was redesigned in 2008 from a modular park with movable features to permanent concrete fixtures, a bowl was included in the design, but there wasn’t enough funding to build it.
Stewart Heights mostly caters to street skaters with a small stairset, ledges and a couple of rails. According to Parks Tacoma, Spence and other skaters say it’s important for parks to incorporate elements of street and transition skating, the latter of which has roots in carving up drained swimming pools. The new bowl will range in depth from 4 to 6 feet.
“Tacoma’s skate community has always collaborated to create skate spaces that are welcoming for all ages and abilities,” Park Board president Andrea Smith said. “We’re eager to see skaters enjoy the expanded Stewart Heights Skatepark that Ryan and others from the skate community helped design. We’re also excited to partner and continue creating resources that support the growing interest in this sport.”
Parks Tacoma said it has seen a rise in interest in skateboarding. It offers chances for young people to learn their way around a board with camps done through Alchemy Skateboarding, a nonprofit in Tacoma.
Another project is on the horizon. The City of Tacoma announced last year that it would put $1 million toward designing and building a covered skatepark in a spot under Interstate 705 downtown. It will also display public art. More than 6,000 votes were cast to decide which community-suggested project the city would pursue.
Parks Tacoma said it is in conversations with the skate community and the city to envision a skate plaza integrated with several downtown improvement projects. More information is expected to be available this fall.
