Early Monday morning, February 26, 2024 city crews will place fencing around the park and contractors will begin park renovations that are anticipated to continue through the summer.
In 2023, Team Pain Skate Parks, in collaboration with engineers and a landscape architect, led a robust community engagement process. This included virtual and public meetings as well as an invitation to the community to provide input on the EngageGJ.org skate park project page. As a result of that public process which involved members of the skate community, the park has been redesigned as a destination skate/wheel park. Team Pain’s Emerson Skate Park design emphasizes modern elements that are currently lacking in Grand Junction including an expansive street course, an intermediate bowl, and an advanced bowl.
Following the concept design last year, City Council approved the project as a part of the 2024 budget. Shortly after budget approval last December, the city approved a contract to complete the design and build the renovated park. The project cost will not exceed the guaranteed maximum price of $2,906,875. Similar to projects like the build-out of additional tennis courts at Canyon View Park and Pickleball courts at Lincoln Park, Emerson Skate Park has been designed for and with input from those members of the community who are most inspired by a park tailored just for them.
Members of the skate community attended a recent City Council meeting to share their appreciation with council members as well as their excitement about the creation of the new state-of-the-art skatepark in downtown Grand Junction. Emerson Park project details are available online at EngageGj.org.
City Council approved the design-build contract with Ford Construction. The contract includes Team Pain as the skatepark builder, the Austin Civil Group for civil engineering, and Kaart Planning for landscape architecture. Team Pain Skate Parks is a national design-build firm with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. They specialize in custom skate structures, concrete skate park facilities, indoor facilities, and high-profile specialty structures. They have designed and constructed 26 concrete skate park facilities throughout Colorado and more than 350 skate structures and skate parks worldwide.
The reactivation of Emerson Park is outlined as a priority in the 2021 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan for the parks and recreation system. For more information, contact Grand Junction Parks and Recreation at 970-254-3866, email gjparksandrec@gjcity.org, or go online to GJCity.org