SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. — For young people in the village of Springville, the skate park in Heritage Park has been a place to meet with friends, stay active, and have fun. But activists say the park has been nearing the end of it's lifespan.
Now, the park will get the love and attention it needs to keep serving the families and youth who BMX and skate there daily, thanks to a $300,000 matching grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
Springville was chosen as this year's sole recipient of the grant, which is available to communities and non-profits in the 16 counties that the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. foundation serves.
The grant is meant to fund skate park projects to either build or renovate concrete skate parks in low and middle income neighborhoods. The skate parks must be free and open to the public, and built with environmental impact in mind.
The skate park will be responsible for fundraising the matching funds but will receive an additional $50,000 off the bat to fund the design of the park and the processes that will reduce environmental impact.