Every time a skate park opens in Metro Detroit, the community claims it's "thinking outside the box" by offering something other than another basketball court or baseball diamond. But Farmington Hills actually does have something to crwo about when it opens Riley Skate Park next year.
Most local skate parks feature the normal concrete hills, ramps and rails that give refuge to the skaters who might otherwise be gliding away from cops and angry shop keepers.
Riley takes things a step further, offering unique features like a 8-foot tall cylinder that looks like a sewer pipe built into the ground instead of above it. A variety of in-ground features that look like pits and ditches made of concrete give it a "West Coast" feel, according to Bryan Farmer, a Farmington Hills recreation supervisor heading up the skate park project.
"It brings in these elements that we don't have in this area," Farmer says. "In terms of skate parks, the kids are getting fired up about this one. I get calls all of the time asking when it will open."
Shovels need to go into the ground first for that to happen. Construction is set to begin on the 29,000-square-foot park next spring and wrap up by the end of summer. It will occupy a corner of Founder's Sports Park at 35500 Eight Mile Road between Gill and Halstead roads near the Farmington Hills Ice Arena.
More than 722,000 people come through the park each year. That number is expected to go up after the skate park is finished. City officials estimate about 200 people will visit skate park each day when opens.
"It's going to be a regional attraction that will bring in people from all across the Midwest," Farmer says.
The skate park is named after George Riley of the Riley Foundation who gave $500,000 toward the project. The skate park is expected to cost $850,000, but Farmer and other organizers hope to raise more to add extra features, such as Web cameras and lights.
For information on the project, contact Farmer at (248) 473-1805 or BFarmer@fhgov.com.
Source: Bryan Farmer, recreation supervisor for Farmington Hills
Writer: Jon Zemke
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