After a long, hard road of lobbying and awareness-raising, it looks like Christmas is coming just a bit early for the peeps at Paine’s Park Project, the group that’s been working to build a skate park on the Schuylkill River Trail since 2003. Later today, Mayor Street will be hosting a press conference to announce that the city has given P3, as it’s known, one million clams via the Cultural and Commercial Corridors Bond Initiative, a baby of the Street’s administration. And while it was surprising enough that said administration gave the kids a 2.5 acre plot of land to do this on a few years back, the grant comes to us as even more of a surprise. But perhaps legacy-building won’t elude the man yet: P3 has earned heaps of architechtural praise of the design of the new park, and worked its ass off to change Philly from being The City That Closed Love Park to This New City That Does Things For The Kids. Congrats, Paine’s folks, and Mayor Street, we have to say: Surprisingly rad of you, dude.

Full press release after the jump.

SKATEBOARD PARK RECEIVES $1 MILLION FROM CITY

The Philadelphia Commerce Dept. grant will build Paine’s Park, and add another crown jewel to the urban waterfront park—Schuylkill Banks.

PHILADELPHIA , PA Dec. 18 – Philadelphia’s international reputation as a world class skateboard destination just got another feather in its cap with the announcement today of a $1 million grant from the City of Philadelphia. Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund, is the non-profit organization which has been raising money for this much anticipated City Park designed for skateboarding, events and general public use. Located at the north end of Schuylkill Banks, it will add an exciting outdoor recreation site on the popular 1.2 mile venue along the lower banks of the Schuylkill River.

The grant is part of Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street’s “Cultural Corridors Fund” initiative, and the first major cash gift for Paine’s Park. The Mayor made similar grants totaling $80 million to 91 organizations—the single largest commitment to Philadelphia’s cultural community in the history of the city. The completion of the park will solidify Philadelphia’s international reputation as a skateboarding destination while honoring the city’s rich history of innovative, open-space urban design.

This major financial investment is the second significant contribution to the project by the City of Philadelphia. In 2003, Mayor Street and Philadelphia City Council donated a 2.5-acre parcel of land along the Schuylkill River near the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the park’s site.

“This is an exciting day for me,” said Stephanie W. Naidoff, Director of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia. “All of our 91 award winners deserve great credit for all of their hard work and commitment to Philadelphia. I am especially pleased to know that these funds will finally make the Mayor’s dream of having a world class skate park on Schuylkill Banks a reality,” she said.

Paine’s Park is a new vision in the development of public space and urban design. The original goal was to develop a community park that was also skateboard-friendly, creating a destination for pedestrians, runners, skateboarders and the 16,000 people who visit Schuylkill Banks every week. After numerous meetings with community leaders, the project’s neighbors, and city officials, Franklin’s Paine and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission sent out a request to select a project architect with a vision that met the challenge.

Philadelphia architect, Anthony Bracali, part of the team that created Citizen’s Bank Ballpark was selected. His bold design for Paine’s Park complements the urban, waterfront landscape, and creates an organic link between the Schuylkill River and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The conceptual design has been praised by many experts and also received a “Citation of Merit” from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Pennsylvania at the 2006 Design Awards. In awarding the prize, the judges said: “The skate park accommodates many users and many activities and acknowledges skateboarding as a positive contributor and involved an exemplary process to create a new paradigm.” In 2007, AIA Philadelphia honored the design with the Urban Planning/Community Design Award, another international recognition for skatepark design and Philadelphia.

“We’re thrilled that this project has become a model for excellence in design, and now will become a reality, thanks to the generous Department of Commerce grant,” said Josh Nims, president of Franklin’s Paine Board of Directors, and operations manager for Schuylkill River Development Corporation, the agency responsible for the development of Schuylkill Banks. “The new skateboard park will be a combination of urban planning, design, public art, and emerging cultures,” Nims added. “And it will be a fitting legacy for our organization’s inspiration, two great Philadelphians, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine.” Nims added that the total cost of the project is $5 million, and the organization is continuing to pursue major donors.

Paine’s Park will not only serve as a recreation site for all of Philadelphia’s citizens, it will be a key space for all levels of events such as concerts, community and arts events, and high- profile televised events such as ESPN’s, X Games and NBC’s Mt. Dew Action Sports Tour. The location will also provide easy access for residents and event producers as well as spectacular views of the Philadelphia skyline.

“We couldn’t be more excited to hear te news about Paine’s Park,” said Joseph Syrnick, president and CEO of Schuylkill River Development Corporation. “The City has been such a major supporter of Schuylkill Banks, and I would like to thank the Mayor and Commerce Director, as well as our partners like the Fairmount Park Commission, for everything they have done to help revitalize the lower part of the river and transform it into a world class riverfront venue in its own right.”

Syrnick said that in 2008, Schuylkill Banks will not only become the home to a world class skateboard park, but also to many new additions to the Banks including a major north end landscaping project, a trail extension form Locust to South Streets, new dock installations, bridge upgrades, and others. There will also be new river boat and kayak tours, and numerous special events throughout the programming season which begins before Memorial Day.

Skateboarding is the second-fastest growing sport in America and a $5.2 billion industry. Extreme sports – including skateboarding, BMX bikes and motocross – represent one of the most visible sporting movements in the world. Philadelphia received more than $50 million in economic activity when it hosted the X-games in 2001 and 2002.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 4:57 pm.