EASTHAMPTON — After five years searching for the perfect spot for a new skate park, officials have come full circle to the site supporters wanted all along — Millside Park, where the last skate park had been located before its dismantling in 2006.

The Parks and Recreation Commission at its Sept. 12 meeting voted unanimously to approve the site at Millside Park, 2 Ferry St., for the project. Located along the Manhan Rail Trail, the park is designed for passive recreation and features an entertainment complex with an acoustical band shell.

With a location secured after roughly five years of scouting and preparation, the project can now move forward with securing funding and gearing up for construction.

Millside Park was the site originally desired by proponents of the project, where it would replace the former David McDonald Memorial Skatepark, which was donated to Chesterfield in 2006.

In 2022, the Parks and Recreation Commission opposed Millside Park as the site for the skate park, while still recognizing the skate park as a valuable community project, prompting the Skatepark Committee to explore other property along Ferry Street. Another site strongly considered but crossed off the list due to contamination concerns was behind the public safety complex on Payson Avenue.

Ultimately, Millside Park remained the most desirable spot for the project, affording the needed space and accessibility features such as proximity to the bike path and bathrooms.

“If your town doesn’t have a skate park, it is a skate park,” said Byron Hubbard from Platform Group, which was brought on to lead the design and construction of the skate park. He noted that these parks are “essentially a safe and legal place to ride at.”

At last week’s meeting, Platform Group presented its current design for the project, which totals about 10,000 square feet and takes inspiration from the surrounding structures and color schemes of Millside Park and the adjacent mill buildings.

The most recent designs also incorporate previous commentary from commission members about integrating the skate park into Milllside Park as much as possible, and preserving a clear line of sight across the park without large, obstructing structures.

“We really wanted the park to look like an art sculpture in itself,” said Tito Porrata, the lead designer on the project. Porrata estimates that the project will cost $65 to $75 per square foot, or between $650,000 and $750,000. Construction would take about 10 weeks, he said.

However, there are still grant applications, fundraising, environmental studies, and other tasks that must be completed before construction can begin. Jeff Bagg, a member of the Skatepark Committee and the city’s former planning director, noted that it would be about three years before anyone is “rolling around” in the park.

Porrata and Hubbard said that the skate park would require very minimal maintenance for its initial years in operation, and could go over 30 years without requiring any major repairs or upkeep.

Members of the commission, Skatepark Committee and broader community spoke in favor of the park, which was lauded for the opportunities and accessibility it would provide for youth who have not found success in organized sports.

Noah Halpern-McManus, who opened the indoor Easthampton Skate Club skate park roughly 10 months ago in the Eastworks building overlooking Millside Park said that he has served over 500 skaters in that time, and consistently works with about 20 young skaters each week. He stated that he sees his work at the Easthampton Skate Club as preparing these young people for the use of a larger outdoor skate park.

City councilors Owen Zaret, Koni Denham and Salem Derby also spoke in favor of the proposed designs and site at Millside Park.

“We’ve come back to Millside time and time again,” said Zaret. “I think this is a home run for Easthampton.”

In their letter to the Parks and Recreation Commission and Parks and Recreation Department Director John Mason, the Skatepark Committee stated that they believe the addition of skate park to Millside Park opens the door for other park enhancements, including the replacement of the existing playground with an Americans with Disabilities Act accessible playground, adding a movie screen and additional power to the bandshell, adding lighting to the walkway and repairing the basketball court surface.

For now, the Skatepark Committee is focusing on the immediate next steps that involve raising money and preparing to submit a grant application next summer to the state’s Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities program.

They anticipate construction wrapping up in June 2027, adding a new public feature to the existing social hub at the Pleasant Street mills.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.