| Skatepark gets rolling with local effort |
| SOURCE : The Chestnut Hill Local DATE : July 26, 2007 Issue BYLINE : James Kehoe |
LOVE Park was a cultural icon. It was a focal meeting place for a specific group of people. It was a rallying
point for a growing, multi-billion dollar phenomenon. And it was a complete accident.
That “phenomenon” was street-skateboarding, a style of skateboarding based on the use of street objects
like rails and benches over visible vert-ramps and half pipes.
And then in the wake of a $44 million dollar surge accredited to Philadelphia’s hosting of the X-games, a ban
on skateboarding in LOVE Park was finally enforced to the fullest extent, and skateboarding in the park was
prohibited. The ban officially removed LOVE Park, and Philadelphia, from this growing spotlight.
Enter Josh Nims, lifelong skateboarder and skate activist, and Mayor John Street. In a response to the closing
of LOVE Park, 2.5 acres of the Schuylkill riverfront was set aside for the designing of a skate park that would do
credit to the aspects of LOVE that were so alluring and significant: its urban nature.
“LOVE was the most influential [street skate park] on the East Coast,” Nims said. “Street skating in the east
really came to term in Philly due to LOVE Park.”
And so, when the time came to settle on a design for the site, the city approved an innovative plan for a skate
park that would also satisfy another Philadelphia need: public space. Still, despite the city receiving the final
construction documents in February 2006, “Paine’s Park” is still only on paper.
Renderings show Paines Park’s proximity to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Lately, however, things are brewing behind the scenes at the Paine’s Park Project once again. A “second
wave” of action, led by Chris Plant and Jamie Elfant of Mt. Airy and Nancy Verruto of Chestnut Hill — following
the previous and continuing efforts of Josh Nims of Mt. Airy — has brought the project to the brink of execution
and a level of visibility previously unknown to the project.
This level of visibility, partially the result of both the project’s location and recent urban and social dynamics,
contributes to the project’s image as a public space as well as its anticipated value to skateboarders.
“In the last few years I’ve watched Philadelphia go through what can best be described as a transformative
urban renaissance,” said Elfant, executive director of the Paine’s Park Project, in a letter to the Local. “And in
the midst of luxury living, condo conversions and skyscraper construction, Philadelphia is still lacking in
thoughtfully planned and designed public space.
“Visit Rittenhouse Square or the Schuylkill river trail on a nice summer day, and the overflow of people enjoying
the outdoors shows the need for more functional, inviting and centrally located public spaces.”
The site of the project, tucked between the Art Museum, the Schuylkill riverfront, the Waterworks and the
Parkway, was also of the utmost importance to the design process.
“The first time I went down to the site, it was completely overgrown on every side,” lead designer Anthony
Bracali said. “So when the [Schuylkill river] trail was cut through, there were so many people we encountered
at community meetings and other events, even people in city government, that would say: ‘How is there two
and half acres down there?’ No one believed it was that big of a space. The idea of putting this place here is
creating a needed link that never existed.”
Bracali, who was named the young architect of the year in 2006 by the American Institute of Architects, said
that the goal from the start was to create a public space that knowingly embraced skateboarding into its
design.
“It’s not skateboarding driving the ship, it’s a larger design process incorporating skateboarding,” Bracali said.
This acceptance of skateboarding into the design — as opposed to the exclusion of it or focusing solely upon
it — is what separates Paine’s Park from other skate parks and public spaces, Bracali said.
The design, a triangle with entrance plazas at each point, directs the skateboarding aspect to the center.
Rougher paving surfaces and higher object heights will dictate movement between sections, especially for
anything on wheels, as well as what each section is used for, Bracali said, ensuring the park’s dedication to
integrated use.
Landscaping will also play a larger role than in the X-games-typical skate park.
Bracali said the park will use more foliage than has ever been put into a skate park. It will also include many
benches and other amenities, again in dedication to the goal of integrated use.
The idea of a multi-use park took on its most concrete form when the Paine’s Park Project representatives met
with Red Tettemer Inc., a marketing and advertising firm in Narberth, said Chris Plant, Paine’s Park Project
capital campaign chair. Tettemer took on the project as its pro-bono client for 2008, a break with perfect timing.
Along with developing the idea a bit further, Tettemer also developed collateral materials, such as press kits.
But despite the growing buzz, Plant said plans to break ground are, as yet, undefined.
“It’s all about money,” Plant said. “The people who could help us weren’t ready to hear it until [the project] was
revamped during this second wave. The potential has been minimized in the past to just skateboarding, [but] it’
s about the social fabric of the city.
“When the park is done, it will be one of the most internationally interesting things in Philly. And [the budget] is
$6 million because we are building a landmark, a gateway to Philly.”
Paine’s Park Project planners have currently applied for almost $5 million in state and city funding for the
project.
Both applications, for a $2.7 million dollar state grant and a $2 million city grant, are still pending. Private
donations are also needed to fill out the $6 million budget, and the project will be open to corporate sponsors,
Plant said.
The group hosted four events in the past seven months to raise awareness and funds, one of which was an
advisory board meeting at the Chestnut Hill home of Nancy Verruto. Other events included a brand
development workshop, a friends-and-family fundraiser at the James Restaurant in downtown Philadelphia
and a capital campaign-launching event at the Waterworks restaurant.
Approximately $10,000 was raised during the friends and family event, while the capital campaign launch
raised close to $14,000. And to top off the event, Verruto committed to a matching donation of up to $25,000.
These advances contributed to the optimism growing within the project, allowing the group to develop their
first, tentative timeline.
“Sooner rather than later,” Plant said. “I’d say a 90 percent chance that it’s built within the next 18 months.
Again, it’s all about the money.”
Relationships, according to Paine’s Park pioneer Josh Nims, were another major aspect of the project. Up
until this point, a good portion of the project’s efforts were aimed towards building and maintaining
relationships throughout the city, he said.
A site, blueprints and a cohesive team of dedicated people were the three main ingredients for eventual
success, Nims said.
Even so, Nims agrees with an expectant timeline. “We’re not whipping this horse up the hill anymore,” he said.
point for a growing, multi-billion dollar phenomenon. And it was a complete accident.
That “phenomenon” was street-skateboarding, a style of skateboarding based on the use of street objects
like rails and benches over visible vert-ramps and half pipes.
And then in the wake of a $44 million dollar surge accredited to Philadelphia’s hosting of the X-games, a ban
on skateboarding in LOVE Park was finally enforced to the fullest extent, and skateboarding in the park was
prohibited. The ban officially removed LOVE Park, and Philadelphia, from this growing spotlight.
Enter Josh Nims, lifelong skateboarder and skate activist, and Mayor John Street. In a response to the closing
of LOVE Park, 2.5 acres of the Schuylkill riverfront was set aside for the designing of a skate park that would do
credit to the aspects of LOVE that were so alluring and significant: its urban nature.
“LOVE was the most influential [street skate park] on the East Coast,” Nims said. “Street skating in the east
really came to term in Philly due to LOVE Park.”
And so, when the time came to settle on a design for the site, the city approved an innovative plan for a skate
park that would also satisfy another Philadelphia need: public space. Still, despite the city receiving the final
construction documents in February 2006, “Paine’s Park” is still only on paper.
Renderings show Paines Park’s proximity to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Lately, however, things are brewing behind the scenes at the Paine’s Park Project once again. A “second
wave” of action, led by Chris Plant and Jamie Elfant of Mt. Airy and Nancy Verruto of Chestnut Hill — following
the previous and continuing efforts of Josh Nims of Mt. Airy — has brought the project to the brink of execution
and a level of visibility previously unknown to the project.
This level of visibility, partially the result of both the project’s location and recent urban and social dynamics,
contributes to the project’s image as a public space as well as its anticipated value to skateboarders.
“In the last few years I’ve watched Philadelphia go through what can best be described as a transformative
urban renaissance,” said Elfant, executive director of the Paine’s Park Project, in a letter to the Local. “And in
the midst of luxury living, condo conversions and skyscraper construction, Philadelphia is still lacking in
thoughtfully planned and designed public space.
“Visit Rittenhouse Square or the Schuylkill river trail on a nice summer day, and the overflow of people enjoying
the outdoors shows the need for more functional, inviting and centrally located public spaces.”
The site of the project, tucked between the Art Museum, the Schuylkill riverfront, the Waterworks and the
Parkway, was also of the utmost importance to the design process.
“The first time I went down to the site, it was completely overgrown on every side,” lead designer Anthony
Bracali said. “So when the [Schuylkill river] trail was cut through, there were so many people we encountered
at community meetings and other events, even people in city government, that would say: ‘How is there two
and half acres down there?’ No one believed it was that big of a space. The idea of putting this place here is
creating a needed link that never existed.”
Bracali, who was named the young architect of the year in 2006 by the American Institute of Architects, said
that the goal from the start was to create a public space that knowingly embraced skateboarding into its
design.
“It’s not skateboarding driving the ship, it’s a larger design process incorporating skateboarding,” Bracali said.
This acceptance of skateboarding into the design — as opposed to the exclusion of it or focusing solely upon
it — is what separates Paine’s Park from other skate parks and public spaces, Bracali said.
The design, a triangle with entrance plazas at each point, directs the skateboarding aspect to the center.
Rougher paving surfaces and higher object heights will dictate movement between sections, especially for
anything on wheels, as well as what each section is used for, Bracali said, ensuring the park’s dedication to
integrated use.
Landscaping will also play a larger role than in the X-games-typical skate park.
Bracali said the park will use more foliage than has ever been put into a skate park. It will also include many
benches and other amenities, again in dedication to the goal of integrated use.
The idea of a multi-use park took on its most concrete form when the Paine’s Park Project representatives met
with Red Tettemer Inc., a marketing and advertising firm in Narberth, said Chris Plant, Paine’s Park Project
capital campaign chair. Tettemer took on the project as its pro-bono client for 2008, a break with perfect timing.
Along with developing the idea a bit further, Tettemer also developed collateral materials, such as press kits.
But despite the growing buzz, Plant said plans to break ground are, as yet, undefined.
“It’s all about money,” Plant said. “The people who could help us weren’t ready to hear it until [the project] was
revamped during this second wave. The potential has been minimized in the past to just skateboarding, [but] it’
s about the social fabric of the city.
“When the park is done, it will be one of the most internationally interesting things in Philly. And [the budget] is
$6 million because we are building a landmark, a gateway to Philly.”
Paine’s Park Project planners have currently applied for almost $5 million in state and city funding for the
project.
Both applications, for a $2.7 million dollar state grant and a $2 million city grant, are still pending. Private
donations are also needed to fill out the $6 million budget, and the project will be open to corporate sponsors,
Plant said.
The group hosted four events in the past seven months to raise awareness and funds, one of which was an
advisory board meeting at the Chestnut Hill home of Nancy Verruto. Other events included a brand
development workshop, a friends-and-family fundraiser at the James Restaurant in downtown Philadelphia
and a capital campaign-launching event at the Waterworks restaurant.
Approximately $10,000 was raised during the friends and family event, while the capital campaign launch
raised close to $14,000. And to top off the event, Verruto committed to a matching donation of up to $25,000.
These advances contributed to the optimism growing within the project, allowing the group to develop their
first, tentative timeline.
“Sooner rather than later,” Plant said. “I’d say a 90 percent chance that it’s built within the next 18 months.
Again, it’s all about the money.”
Relationships, according to Paine’s Park pioneer Josh Nims, were another major aspect of the project. Up
until this point, a good portion of the project’s efforts were aimed towards building and maintaining
relationships throughout the city, he said.
A site, blueprints and a cohesive team of dedicated people were the three main ingredients for eventual
success, Nims said.
Even so, Nims agrees with an expectant timeline. “We’re not whipping this horse up the hill anymore,” he said.
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