Famous Olympian To Design Additions To NJ Skate Park

MONTCLAIR, NJ — It’s a pretty big badge of honor when an Olympian calls your town’s local skateboarders “inspiring.” That’s how USA Olympic team member Alexis Sablone describes Montclair’s “vibrant” skating community, which recently got some big news about the local skate complex at Rand Park on North Fullerton Avenue.

Sablone, a seven-time X Games medalist and a graduate of MIT and Barnard College, will be designing seven skateable sculptures at the park, which launched to huge local fanfare in the summer of 2020. Read More: Long-Awaited Skate Park Opens In Montclair Amid Pandemic

Skate Essex Inc., the nonprofit that helped to spearhead the drive to create the Montclair skate park, will be chipping in to pay for the project with the help of a $25,000 grant from The Skatepark Project (TSP), formerly known as The Tony Hawk Foundation.

Construction is scheduled for mid-March, with a groundbreaking in April.

“Montclair has such a vibrant and inspiring community of skaters,” Sablone said. “You can tell how passionate they are by how used and appreciated the existing skate spaces are, and by the tremendous efforts they’ve made to improve and expand the space they have.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing my sculptures there, and hope they will be loved and skated for years to come,” Sablone said.

• See related article: Olympian Alexis Sablone Visits Montclair's New Skate Park (VIDEO)

Benjamin Anderson Bashein, executive director of The Skatepark Project, said the group is honored to partner on the project, getting a big round of applause from the board members at Skate Essex Inc. in return.

“The intentional repurposing of space with modern, skate-able art sculptures is a cutting-edge concept for public skatepark design,” Bashein said. “This will be TSP's first special award to support a project of this kind and we couldn't be more thrilled to share this milestone with the talented Alexis Sablone, who will bring her renowned design and skate expertise to this community-based project.”

The news also got a big thumbs up from Montclair town council members Peter Yacobellis and Robin Schlager, who said:

“We are so impressed and thrilled with the groundswell of support from the community at large, Skate Essex and now The Skatepark Project to enable Montclair to have this innovative and functional skatepark built by and for skaters by a skater. We appreciate the support from our colleagues and Mayor Sean Spiller. Alexis’ sculptures represent the best that Montclair offers – art, positivity, community, athletics and diversity for all to enjoy.”

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