Elliot Park will be home to largest skate park in Minneapolis park system when it opens this summer
The final phase of construction on a new skate park at Elliot Park is underway! Over the next few months, workers will complete final grading, form and pour concrete skate features, plant raingardens, seed a pollinator-friendly lawn, and install new trees and a patio seating area.
The work is expected to take about two months and the skate park will open this summer, capping a series of upgrades at Elliot Park as part of this project. Please stay off the site and skate features until the construction fence comes down to allow the cement skate features to cure properly and prevent damage.
Skate Park Upgrades
The Elliot Park skate park, originally built in 2004, was removed last August and many of the old skate features were repurposed to expand the skate park at Creekview Park. The new Elliot Park skate park will feature a premier street-style skate park with a skateable seat wall, quarter pipe, rail and ledges. Follow the link below to see illustrations of the new skate park:
Elliot Park Skate Park Illustrations [PDF]
Next to the skate park at the northeast corner of Elliot Park, two new rainwater gardens and a new permeable patio will be installed to help infiltrate runoff from the skate park. These important new amenities are funded through a grant from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.
The pathway between the skate park and athletic field will be replaced, and a new sidewalk connection with bike racks will be built near the park entrance at the corner of S Eighth Street and S Ninth Street to make this portion of the park more accessible.
The Minneapolis Skate Park Activity Plan, approved in January 2018, helped guide the new skate park design.
Lighting Upgrades
The athletic field, which was upgraded and expanded in 2015, was outfitted last summer with four new light poles to extend play into the evening. These lights will also illuminate the new skate park. Existing pedestrian and path lighting were also replaced throughout the park last fall.
Project Partners and Funding
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) thanks supporters of this project:
- The Hennepin Youth Sports Program contributed a $200,000 grant
- The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization contributed a $49,373 grant for rainwater gardens and a permeable paver patio
- $487,503 was allocated from Elliot Park Neighborhood Park Dedication Funds
- City of Skate is the MPRB’s official skate park fundraising and advocacy partner and helped solicit many donations of materials or expertise to move the project forward.
- The field and path lighting upgrades were funded via 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan park rehabilitation funds.