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Skateboarders in the Keweenaw may have a chance to use its newest park before winter.
Construction began on the Houghton Skate Park recently and it’s expected to be completed within the next few weeks, giving its skaters a quick glimpse of the facility before it’s hidden by a blanket of snow until spring.
It’s the culmination of three years of fundraising efforts and cooperation from city council members, the attendance of many board meetings, and the collaboration of designers from the west coast.
“I’ve been impressed with the support we’ve had so far throughout the entire project,” said project organizer Alex Aho.
Aho proposed the idea of a Houghton Waterfront skatepark in 2015, and since then he’s been on a mission to make this vision a reality. Groundbreaking took place a few days ago and crews are making way for concrete on both Phase One and Two of the build, that were combined due to successful fundraising that exceeded initial goals.
“This will be the final bit of construction here. We’re doing it all in one shot instead of the two phases we expected,” said Aho.
With over $200,000 raised from skateboard art auctions and donations, the park is expected to be in full operation sometime in October.
Aho said, “It’s not unlikely that we’ll be getting 30 – 40 people using the skatepark a day, and the skatepark is pretty small as far as our standards go. We’re the second one in the entire Upper Peninsula, the second concrete one anyway, so it will be a busy park which could be great.”
The park is located on the East side of the Houghton Waterfront Park and along with construction of the skatepark will come a new boardwalk to the waterfront. The pouring of concrete has already begun on the sidewalk near the pavilion. Ramps and obstacles will start taking shape in the upcoming days.
