By Teresa Sargeant
Apopka Chief Staff
The city kicked off the construction of its new $500,000 skate park and pump track with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, January 10, at the site of the new park, located just north of the Fran Carlton Center on North Forest Avenue in Apopka.
The new Apopka Action Sports Park is an Apopka Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) project using tax increment fund revenue from the city of Apopka and Orange County government.
At the groundbreaking, Mayor Bryan Nelson recognized the CRA Board members, Orange County District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore, and the city parks and recreation department including its director Radley Williams.
Moore said it was exciting to see the CRA board choose the skate park as a project, which Orange County is helping to fund. She was also glad that Williams chose a location for the skate park on the West Orange Trail, making the park more accessible to youth and families.
“It’s always exciting when you get to be at a groundbreaking for something new,” Moore said. “I had a friend of my son’s and he – I have to tell you – he’s probably 32 (years old) now talking about a skate park in this community for a decade. So, it was exciting to see that the CRA board chose this as a project and Orange County government is also proud to be helpful.”
The Parks and Recreation Department looked to the American Ramp Company to help with the design and construction of the park. The American Ramp Company has experience working for over 20 years developing skate and bike park facilities nationwide and throughout 44 countries worldwide.
Located downtown, the Apopka Community Redevelopment Area is comprised of 633 acres and has a mix of residences, businesses, and historic properties. The area is bound on the south by 10th and 11th Streets, Hawthorne Avenue to the west, Oak Street to the north, and sections of multiple streets to the east, including but not limited to Highland Avenue, Monroe Avenue, and Alabama Avenue.
The local government created the Apopka CRA Board to direct the agency. This board comprises Apopka City Council members, an Orange County Board of County Commissioners representative, and other individuals appointed by the local government.
Since the COVID pandemic, Apopka residents Josh and Suzanne Wheeler have advocated for a community skate park, both on social media and in person with city officials and employees. Their son Smooth, 11, is a BMX scooter rider. The family lives across the street from where the Apopka Action Skate Park is being built.
“He rides his bike to school every day … so he’ll be able to, next year, he’ll go to Apopka Elementary in sixth grade, he’ll be able to come here after school and ride the park, and then go across the street to the house,” Josh Wheeler said.
“My wife just did a little bit of a push on her social media and it kind of grew legs and grew wings,” Josh Wheeler said.
The Wheelers take Smooth to several other skate parks in Central Florida, but “they’re all a hike,” Josh Wheeler said.
“I think the closest one is maybe 30 to 45 minutes of a drive,” he said. “So now we’ll be five minutes up the street. And Apopka has never had anything like this. They’ve got football fields and soccer fields, but to have an action park like this; they’ve got the water splash pad and stuff like that. This is groundbreaking for the city of Apopka.”
Construction of the Apopka Action State Park began this week, with an estimation of completion being between six and seven weeks, pending weather. As the park gets closer to a solid completion date, a grand opening ceremony with a ribbon cutting will be scheduled and announced.
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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