December 2024 Update

After five years of planning, the new Waterbury skatepark is nearing the final phase of its $250,000 fundraising campaign. We are excited to bring a skatepark back to Waterbury. We know skateboarding is more than just a sport; it’s a community. Skateboarding is a powerful way for kids, and people of all ages, to build resilience and confidence, enhance their well-being, and create long-lasting relationships. The Waterbury Skatepark Coalition volunteers would like to take this opportunity to review our progress and to update the community on what’s to come at Hope Davey Park next Summer.

As with most skatepark projects it takes a group of focused, devoted community-minded folks to make these things happen. A vision is articulated; a leadership team confers; new friendships are created; a commitment to succeed evolves; a new understanding of civic engagement emerges and the reality of fundraising for such an expensive project begins. To date we have raised $190,000 in pledges and donations-thank you!

Building a proper concrete skatepark in Waterbury was the brainchild of Jake Blauvelt who was born and raised in Waterbury Center and now lives on Sweet Rd. with his family. Jake is a professional snowboarder and skateboard enthusiast. In 2020 Jake started an event called “Blauvelt’s Banks” which is a banked slalom competition for snowboarders at Bolton Valley every March. Over the last three years, Jake has donated the profits of the event to the skatepark project and we are looking forward to the event in 2025. (https://blauveltsbanks.com)

In 2021 an anonymous, local donor made a $50,000 donation to the park which energized the coalition to keep moving forward. In September of 2023 when the town of Waterbury completed the new master plan at Hope Davey Park it provided a blueprint for the new skatepark space, new playground, ADA pathways and improvements to parking, ball fields, a disc golf trail network and renovated community pavilion. With this mandate and significant momentum, the skatepark coalition turned their attention to a robust capital campaign to raise the remaining funds. 

Over the last two years, the coalition has been working with Geoff Hall who is a local skatepark designer and concrete contractor with professional experience building skateparks throughout the U.S. Geoff’s company Standard Construction has been instrumental in helping to design the new park. If you are interested, a beautiful rendering of the park created by local coalition team member, Jake Ferreira, can be viewed on our website: https://www.waterburyskateparkvt.org/ 

Other Fundraising Initiatives:

In 2023, inspired by the success of Revitalizing Waterbury’s Stowe Street alley project in memory of Jack Carter, our vision for a whimsical, engraved brick walkway project at the skatepark has raised over $11,500. There are 85 more engraved bricks to sell for the project. The bricks cost $100 and are an affordable way to support the project while honoring someone special in your life. Don’t miss this opportunity! https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/waterburyskates

In August of 2024, the skatepark coalition accepted a $10,000 donation from Waterbury resident Curtis Fox who organized a wildly successful GoFundMe campaign in memory of his childhood friend Ryan Yacavoni. A memorial bench for Ryan will be installed at the park thanks to this exceptional, grassroots effort. We are extremely grateful for everyone’s support in this way. 

An important part of our fundraising strategy has also been to connect with local business sponsors and Foundations who recognize the value of having a beautiful, new skatepark in town and want to support the youth and families of our community in this way. We have raised roughly $30,000 from local businesses and Foundations for the park and this effort continues. If you would like to become a sponsor please contact the coalition at waterburyskatepark@gmail.com. A big thank you for all of the local sponsors who have stepped up to support the new skatepark. https://www.waterburyskateparkvt.org/sponsors

Most recently, in October 2024, the Waterbury DRB approved the permit for the design and construction of the new skatepark. The skatepark itself will be approximately 5,000 sq. ft and will be adjacent to the town’s new basketball court project. The skatepark coalition’s budget will also include improved landscaping to enhance shaded areas and three donated memorial benches will be installed. Based on the town’s master plan the town will make improvements to the green space parking lot behind the Waterbury Center fire station to accommodate access to this multi-use recreation area.

As the Waterbury Skatepark coalition continues to collaborate with the town to optimize the recreational assets at Hope Davey Park for the community, the coalition hopes to donate $230,000-$250,000 towards the project. It will depend on our fundraising efforts over the next six months. However, in December the Waterbury Select Board approved a donation from some left over ARPA monies for the skatepark which will move the project closer to the finish line by June.

As we continue fundraising into 2025 and approach the construction phase of this project, we are excited to bring this amazing recreation asset to our community. We hope you agree! Please consider making a generous donation to the campaign to FORWARD-The Waterbury Skatepark P.O. Box 244 Waterbury Center, VT 05677 or online at https://www.vtforward.org/waterbury-skate-park

Happy Holidays from the Waterbury Skatepark Coalition!