Lowell Skatepark Reaches Funding Goal
“Rogers thanked the anonymous benefactor and communicated that the project was within $17,000 of goal. Shortly thereafter, he received a text message from the same individual explaining that they were going to provide the final $17,000, as well. The new Lowell Skatepark was back on the table. “We can’t express how thankful we are to have someone just come in there and rescue us to get us to our goal,” Rogers said.”
By Justin Tiemeyer | contributing writer
In April of 2023, Bob Rogers took to the Lowell MI Community Chatter Facebook group to ask for help. A project he was involved in, with aims to remodel the Lowell Skatepark, was just over the two-thirds mark of its $120,000 funding goal, and it needed another boost to get the rest of the way. Rogers was still waiting on two grants, including the Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), which was a little bit of a long-shot, since it favors low-income neighborhoods near large metropolitan areas. Rogers was optimistic about the future of the project, but without the help of a charismatic t-shirt or wristband sale or a philanthropic donor, it was unlikely that he would raise the remaining funds (nearly $40,000) needed. “I’m not sure if I want to use the word ‘stuck’,” Rogers said. “We were behind a hump that was difficult to get beyond.”
That all changed in early November, when Rogers acquired a significant donation from a local foundation, who would prefer to keep their identity anonymous. Rogers had initially secured a verbal commitment of $10,000 from the foundation. The donor came over and gave Rogers an envelope. Rogers asked for confirmation of the $10,000 amount, and they told him that they wrote the check for $20,000 instead. Rogers thanked the anonymous benefactor and communicated that the project was within $17,000 of goal. Shortly thereafter, he received a text message from the same individual explaining that they were going to provide the final $17,000, as well. The new Lowell Skatepark was back on the table. “We can’t express how thankful we are to have someone just come in there and rescue us to get us to our goal,” Rogers said.
Following their victory, Rogers and company did not merely rest on their laurels. They immediately scheduled a virtual meeting with a design firm in Seattle, called Grindline Skateparks, who would take the reins of the project, now that the funding goal had been reached. Rogers had previously worked with Spohn Ranch, another design firm in Industry, California, and received free-concept art to be used in support of his fundraising efforts. The actual design will be developed over the winter with the assistance of skateboarding aficionados, Dan Lixey, Jessica Barney, and 5-10 other community skating representatives.
Lixey and Barney were the original first movers, who talked to Rogers about the need for a skatepark remodel, three years ago. They are also the project’s skateboarding experts, as Rogers admits his ignorance when it comes to the sport, and Lixey confirms. “He knows nothing about skateboarding,” Lixey said, “but it wouldn’t get done if he wasn’t around, so it’s nice to have him.”
Lixey grew up in Flint, where he first learned to skateboard in 1986. He still skateboards to this day, but not nearly as much as back then. “My 47-year-old body doesn’t like the cement as much as it used to,” Lixey said.
Skateboarding is also a passion that Lixey has passed on to his son, Jayce. The 23-year-old recently moved to the Heritage Hill neighborhood, in downtown Grand Rapids, to be closer to the Roberto Clemente DIY Skatepark on Rumsey Street. Lixey noted that he always wanted his son to play the same sport he did, and his wish came true. According to Lixey, Jayce does two things these days—he works and he skates.
Living in Lowell, as Lixey has since 1996, and his son has up until his recent move downtown, it was nice to have a local park, and Lixey loves that Lowell Skatepark was created as the result of a local grassroots fundraising campaign, but the skatepark they put together was never going to last forever. In recent years, local skaters have left Lowell to enjoy their sport, traveling like Jayce to Clemente downtown or Saranac or Belding. When Lixey and Barney came up with the idea, it was in order to give the next generation of Lowell skateboarders something local to enjoy, and not just skateboarders either; Lixey foresees that bike and scooter riders, and even RC car drivers, will enjoy the new setup.
Though $120,000 is a gigantic amount of money for people like Rogers, Lixey, and Barney, it is actually a small figure when it comes to skateparks, which often range from $500,000 to $2,000,000 and beyond, so the designers will have to be clever with which features are included. Lixey’s primary concerns for the new design are that it is accessible to people of all ages, not just experts, and that there is a flow to it. He wants to include a manual (manny) pad, some rails, and a couple of other features, but even the open space will serve a purpose. Once the new skatepark is constructed, others can hold smaller fundraising campaigns to construct additional features, using the current park as proof of concept.
Typically, with larger budget projects, Grindline designers like to fly out to the site and meet with people in the community to determine which features to include in a skatepark. With a $120,000 budget, there will already be limits on height and the number and type of features, and big bowls and pools are already off the table; spending extra money to fly out some designers from Seattle to hold public forums would just place further limits on the scope of the project. This is why the discussions are being done remotely with a small group of experts and interested parties.
The goal is to break ground on the new skatepark in spring of 2024. The commencement date is still up in the air, as the winter’s snow, weather, and frozen ground could lead to delays, but once started, the project will likely take as little as 4-6 weeks to complete. The Michigan winter gives the team more time to get designs and financials right, and it eats up any time that might have been lost waiting for Grindline to finish other projects already in progress in more temperate climes.
While the community has already stood up and supported the skatepark remodel project, Rogers has noted that he will need more help in the near future, this time in the form of in-kind donations. Between now and spring, they will need a lot of cement, so any businesses willing to offer discounted or donated cement, or any individual looking to give money toward the purchase of said cement, would be appreciated. The same goes for rebar and lumber. “If we can save a couple thousand with cement, lumber, and rebar donations, it could possibly turn into another feature,” Rogers said.
Those interested in the project can keep up on its progress by following the Skate Park at Stoney Lakeside Park Project Facebook page. This is also the place where folks interested in helping with cement, rebar, and lumber, can reach out to Rogers and the team and make arrangements. Rogers can be contacted directly by email at BobRogers299@gmail.com or by phone at 616-299-0022.
