Skate park campaign suspended as city puts target property up for sale

UPDATE: Curbed Detroit is reporting that Community Push has suspended its crowdfunding campaign because the city of Detroit is selling the property where the organization planned to build a skatepark. Here is Community Push's statement from its Patronicity page:

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, Wigle Recreation Center is being sold by the city. Community Push and the MEDC is looking for alternative spaces within the city for our future skate park."

---

A group of Detroit skate boarders is receiving a major push from the state of Michigan.

Community organizers and skate boarders Community Push began building a skate park at the old Wigle Recreation Center earlier this year. Not only has the city of Detroit's recreation department given the group its blessing, the state of Michigan, through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has gotten in on the fun. The state's marketing arm has agreed to contribute $20,000 toward major improvements to the skate park if Community Push can reach their own $20,000 through crowdfunding. Community Push has raised $4,055 at the time of publication.

Community Push officially adopted the park from the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department earlier this summer. The park is part of the larger Wigle Recreation Center, a five-acre site in Midtown located at the southeastern corner of the John C. Lodge Freeway service drive and Selden Street. It has been vacant since 2005. Another community organization, the Wigle Recreational Baseball Field, has been caring for the baseball field since 2012.

This summer, after the demolition of a previous DIY skate park at the Brewster-Douglas Housing Projects, Community Push began working on the park at Wigle. The first phase of construction was completed in September and opened for public use. With the crowdfunding and matching grant, the group will finish phase two which includes new obstacles, beautification projects, public seating, and youth programming.

"This project has been a dream to work on," says Community Push’s Derrick Dykas. "I feel very fortunate to be able to take the tools I’ve acquired as a skateboarder, tradesman, and organizer and use them to give back. What's been accomplished so far has sparked a fire in the community that'll burn for years to come, and it's exciting to see what comes next."

Community Push has until Dec. 13 to raise $20,000 and receive the matching MEDC grant.

Source: Michigan Economic Development Corporation press release
Writer: MJ Galbraith

Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.