The city of Greenville has officially secured property to build a future skatepark and paved pump track.
The approximately 10-acre site is located at 425 Airport Road next to the Greenville Downtown Airport. Greenville City Council unanimously approved a 50-year ground lease agreement with the Greenville Airport Commission to use the property during its Sept. 9 meeting.
“We looked and looked for a site for this for a long time,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White.
The property was first identified as a potential site for a wheel park in the city’s Airport District Planning Study. According to the city, staff have been working to develop a lease agreement over the past year.
The city will offset the annual $40,000 rental fee for the property with the airport’s annual stormwater fee. The city will also transfer funding from the hospitality fund which will be expensed through the parks, recreation and tourism department operating account.
Beyond the skatepark
Along with a skatepark and pump track, the wheel park will include a bicycle playground with balance bikes for young children to use. The park would also connect to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail Greenline Extension through proposed trail connectors.
“Not only is it great for recreation and amenities for the people, this is also great for the airport and for the small businesses that are there,” said Greenville City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe.
Calin Owens, the city’s mobility coordinator, shared during council’s work session on Sept. 9 that a request for proposals for the project’s engineering and design services will be released in October.
The planning process for the wheel park is planned to kick off in late November and early December. This will include public meetings to collect input from community members on what they would like to see in the park. Owens said the design process won’t begin until they hear from the community.
Construction of the skatepark and pump track will be funded through public-private partnerships. The city has set aside $1.25 million in the FY24 and FY25 budgets for the project. An additional $1 million is planned to be budgeted in FY26.
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