CHARLOTTE, N.C. — By the end of the week, the City of Charlotte will close a community-built skate park in East Charlotte.
Eastland DIY SkatePark will close to make room to begin redevelopment at the Eastland Mall site, including the new Charlotte FC headquarters.
Things look bleak for a possible relocation for the park. Founder Steve Barrett pleaded with city leaders at a council meeting Monday night to find an alternative location.
“We have been ignored on social media by every panel," Barrett said. "Hundreds of messages to Char-Meck, Charlotte government by us and not a single response that we hear from you."
At large Charlotte City Council Member Dimple Ajmera said the city and county can work together to try and find a solution to help find a place for skaters.
She plans to meet with them on Monday.
"The Eastland site was never designed for a permanent skatepark," Ajmera said. "You know, we have residents, we have neighbors that have been waiting for far too long for that site to be redeveloped to be an economic catalyst and economic catalyst for the region."
The skatepark is on a portion of land slated to be a $26 million project with mixed-income housing, a park, greenways, businesses, and a full-service grocery store. The site will also include entertainment venues and the Charlotte FC Elite Academy headquarters.
“We must balance, the economic opportunities, the good-paying jobs, the retail options that our neighbor has advocated for far too long," Ajmera said. " And we cannot fail them. We must continue the momentum we have started while providing that alternative options to our skateboarding community."
She said the skaters deserve an opportunity to be heard as well.
"We do have conversations that are underway right now," Ajmera said. "Parks and Recreation, that is, that is the function of the county, they do have few alternatives that we will be discussing at our next council meeting on Monday, March 7th in Eastland. Redevelopment is part of our agenda."
Skaters Stories
Josh Sigmon picked up a skateboard for the first time at just 6 years old while playing with a childhood friend.
"I had a trampoline," Sigmon said. "He had a skateboard. And he's like, 'basically, can I jump on your trampoline?' I was like, 'yeah if I could use whatever that is.'"
Now, 20 years later, he still skates multiple days a week.
He drives around two hours round-trip to get to Eastland DIY Skate Park in East Charlotte.
So does Giavante Alexander-Bolar.
"I'm really not local," Alexander-Bolar said. "But for the people that I do know, and the people that have introduced me to the park there, they're broken, and I just really don't want to lose the connection."
Skate park closes
On March 3, the city closed the skate park to prepare it for impending demolition, making way for the multi-million dollar renovation.
Skaters have vowed to continue to show up at city council meetings until city leaders respond to their request for an alternative location.
"I know what it looks like, it looks like kids on a playground," Sigmon said. "You know, what do they get from it? Well, they get, you know, kids off the street, like they get people that pick up a skateboard ... I know, I know, I have friends that were homeless before they started skateboarding, picked up skateboarding come to this place, it changed their life."
Sigmon will also miss the skate park for a more personal reason: that childhood friend introduced him to skateboarding.
"Unfortunately, he passed away in 2010," Sigmon said. "But, you know, he's here with us. And, you know, he's here at this place every day."
When the park closes down, Sigmon hopes wherever they go next his friend’s spirit will follow.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.