Tony Hawk Foundation gives $25,000 to Cleveland skatepark, part of recreation hub in the Flats

Published: Friday, April 15, 2011, 5:28 PM

AP fileA planned skateboarding park in the Flats has won a $25,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation -- the first big private funding to help with site work, landscaping and viewing areas.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A California foundation launched by famed skateboarder Tony Hawk is sending $25,000 to the Flats.

The grant marks the first big private investment in a planned skateboarding park on the Columbus Road Peninsula.

Dreamed up by the skateboarding community and backed by the city of Cleveland, the park is one of several proposals to reshape the banks of the Cuyahoga River.

On Merwin Avenue, the 15,000-square-foot concrete park would be flanked by the new Rivergate Park rowing facility and the expanded Ohio City Bicycle Co-op. It would sit just river-bends away from the Flats East Bank, a casino and other developments that promise dramatic change for downtown Cleveland.

"On all fronts, this project scored very high," said Miki Vuckovich, executive director of the Tony Hawk Foundation. "The board is really taken by the story, the work this group has done, the community and the city's investment in the project . . . embracing the project, selecting such a high-profile site."

The foundation, which gives money to public skatepark projects, chose Cleveland for the largest of 15 awards announced this week. The grant will go to the Public Square Group, a Lakewood nonprofit focused on bringing skateboarding to neighborhoods.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson allocated $550,000 for the park in the city's 2011 capital improvements budget. Nonprofit groups are seeking $100,000 in private donations for site work, landscaping and seating areas for spectators.

"This $25,000, we really needed to get this," said Vince Frantz, executive director of the Public Square Group. "Besides the monetary boost, this is probably the biggest vote of confidence that we're doing the right thing and we're actually an example that other cities should follow."

The Public Square Group and the city are working with ParkWorks and the Ohio City Near West Development Corp. on the project. Frantz hopes to finish fundraising this summer and to see construction start this year. The park could open in 2012.