Skate park grand opening Thursday

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A grand opening for Austin's new BMX and Skate Park is set for Thursday at 10 a.m. The park is located at 11213 Shoal Creek Blvd.

After ceremonies end at about noon, the park will be open for public use.

The park was designed by New Line Skate parks of Canada. and engineered by Baker-Aicklen & Associates and Jose Guerra, Inc.

Construction of the BMX & Skate Park was done by Prism Development and California Skate parks. The construction contract was authorized by the City Council in May 2010 and construction began in October 2010. The total cost for the park is $1.7 million.

The Austin BMX & Skate Park project was funded by citizens through the 2006 Bond Election. The BMX and Skateboard stakeholder community was involved in getting Austin voter’s support for this growing recreational activity and was also involved throughout the park's design process.

The artwork for the BMX Skate Park was commissioned through the city of Austin’s Art in Public Places Program , which allocates 2 percent of estimated construction costs of all eligible capital improvement projects toward the acquisition of artwork for city facilities.

Chris Levack was selected as the artist for the public art components for this project through a competitive interview process. He designed, fabricated and installed “Iron Wave,” the skate-able element in the northwest corner of the park, and “Trilobite Arbor,” the shade structure that provides users and visitors a break from the Texas sun.

Levack bridges the park’s natural and man-made surroundings with both art pieces, as the “wave” references the water of nearby Shoal Creek and the “trilobites” that shape the arbor canopies are visual reminders of the past life forms that once inhabited the creek.

Levack will attend the grand opening and discuss his work.