EASTHAMPTON — Construction of the city’s long-awaited skate and all-wheels park will begin this month at Millside Park after a final fundraising push brought the project to full funding this summer.
Fundraising efforts, and the project as a whole, have been spearheaded by the Easthampton Skatepark Committee. Leading into the summer, the group hoped to raise the final $85,000 needed to bring the project to life — it surpassed that amount, raising approximately $88,000.
“These projects don’t happen just because one person wants to get a skate park built,” said Jeff Burke, a member of the committee. “Without the sustained community involvement, we would have never gotten here.”
Residents can expect half of the Millside Park parking lot to be closed during construction, according to John Mason, director of Parks and Recreation. Mason said initial construction this month will involve prepping the site for future concrete work that will be used for the actual park.
“A lot of people have been interested in this project and it’s always good to get a project started,” Mason said.
The city awarded the construction contract to Baskin Builders of East Longmeadow and designs were completed earlier this year by GZA GeoEnvironmental, a national engineering firm. Burke said Nolan Fonda, a landscape architect from GZA, led design efforts of the park that aims to be accessible to everyone and all skill levels.
“He (Fonda) is super familiar with the western Mass. skate park landscape and we designed something that we think will be good for all ability levels,” Burke said.
“The way it’s designed is you can be a beginner or an expert and still use the whole park,” said Jeff Bagg, another member of the committee. “Kids will have access, parents can be close by, older people, scooter riders, roller skaters, bicycle riders, can all use this space. It’s an amenity that we’re really looking forward to having in Easthampton.”
Bagg said the group’s fiscal partner The Flywheel has been instrumental in fundraising efforts. Multiple fundraisers were held throughout the summer that helped secure numerous donations from the likes of the Klarman Family Foundation.
The overall push for the skate park, called the Easthampton Skate Park Initiative, is a collaboration between the city, the skatepark committee and the Parks and Recreation Department. The Parks & Recreation Commission has also been involved.
Bagg said donations are still open, and any additional money will go toward a maintenance fund that will be used when needed in the future. While the skate park will be a parks and recreation facility, the skate park committee has committed to maintain the park in the future.
Bagg pointed out that the skate park’s story actually started in 2005 when Easthampton’s previous skate park was removed, much to the surprise of many residents.
Though a renewed push for the park began in 2019, and picked up steam in September 2025 thanks to a $250,000 contribution from the Community Preservation Act Committee. That grant helped leverage a $425,000 grant from the state Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) program.
The PARC grant must be used by the end of June next year, with construction planned to conclude before then. Burke and Bagg said the help from multiple stakeholders cannot be overstated to bring the project to life.
“We want to be thankful of all our donors, and we really have support of the parks department,” Bagg said. “They have given their full support.”
