JTNY Power House Skatepark

Skaters and cyclists filled the three bowls of the new $1 million JTNY Power House Skatepark at the grand opening of the facility Saturday afternoon.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the project has been a long-time coming, “With fundraising starting back in 2018. And it’s been a huge community and regional effort with so many foundations, individuals, government organizations making this truly a world-class, unique, multi-million dollar skatepark a reality.”

The 10,000 square foot project was funded through grants from The Skatepark Project, Ralph C. Wilson Junior Foundation, City of Jamestown, SK8 JTNY, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Skate boarder at JTNY Power House Skatepark

Sundquist said the skatepark site is very unique in that it was the former powerhouse and garage for the Jamestown Trolley system which had been abandoned and unused for decades, “This is truly an amazing feat – to take and reuse elements and foundations of the old Power House building as well as many of the things that have made Jamestown great. You may see behind me a giant crescent wrench, you may see the bricks, you see all of the cement, you see the things that have created Jamestown over the years.”

The park was designed and constructed by Grindline Skateparks.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist announced an additional $480-thousand dollars in Urban Development Action Grant monies has been approved by the City to build the proposed second phase of the poured-concrete park, “It’s a 10,000 square foot park. And it will really be an incredible destination for people to come in and use our skatepark. It’s been a priority project with a significant amount of funding that we’ve received. And instead of waiting years to go forward with the second phase, we are excited to completely fund the skatepark here.”

Funding for the project includes $250,000 from The Skatepark Project and Ralph C. Wilson Junior Foundation and an additional $50,000 from the Built-To-Play initiative under the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation for environmental impact features. The City of Jamestown matched the initial $250,000 using a combination of Community Development Block Grant monies, UDAG funds, as well as $10,000 from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, and over $43,000 raised by SK8 JTNY.

Grindline Skateparks has been contracted to do the build, which city officials estimate will begin in August. The project is expected to be completed by this Fall with a grand opening held in Spring 2022.

“So the fact that we’re still working on behalf of our kids, our youth, here in the City of Jamestown to make sure we have a space where they can be the best they can be is so incredibly important.”
The $500-thousand dollar project is being funded through a $250-thousand dollar grant from The Skatepark Project, formerly known as the Tony Hawk Foundation, and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

The Skatepark Project‘s Trevor Staples said the process for Jamestown to get this park started 3-years ago with the Built To Play program when he reached out to Jamestown Skate Products owner Pete Scheira,

“And I was going to give him all the information about the new grant program and he said ‘I’m already working on the application,’ so he’s really got his act together and Pete Scheira is really the driving force behind all this. This couldn’t be possible without the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation who’s funded up to 20 skateparks throughout the region, so at least 10 in Western New York”

Scheira, as part of the Skate J-T-N-Y group led the community fundraising for the park,

“We started raising money for this, I’d say, with the Active Artists Alliance about 10 years ago. We started having skateboard art deck shows and just keeping the money put away in a bank account waiting for this day to happen. But really we never knew where it was going to be. We just knew some day that the time would be right and the skatepark would happen and kept having the shows.”

The matching funds of $250-thousand dollars were raised by the City of Jamestown, SK8 JTNY, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The City also was awarded at $50-thousand dollar grant for green infrastructure as part of the project due to its proximity to the Chadakoin River.

Officials anticipate the skate park will be fully constructed and opened by the end of this summer.