After years of fundraising, planning and dreaming, Pensacola skate park months from opening

Construction of the long-awaited Blake Doyle Skatepark at Hollice T. Williams Park is well underway.

Last week, Pensacola announced the construction of the new park is expected to be complete this summer as long as the weather doesn't slow things down.

Pensacola approved funding for the $2 million skate park in May and broke ground on the project in July with Bear General Contractors building the park.

The Blake Doyle Community Park is located under Interstate 110 in the block south of the Pensacola Police Department between Jackson and La Rua streets next to From The Ground Up Community Garden.

Long waitAfter seven years, construction set to begin on $2.1 million downtown Pensacola skate park

Last approvalPensacola skate park clears last big obstacle after council OKs budget boost

The project for the skate park has been in the works since 2015, with private fundraising efforts led by Upward Intuition. The city backed the project, and ultimately it was made a part of the $25 million redesign of Hollice T. Williams Park project being administered by Escambia County under the RESTORE Act.

The city took the responsibility for building the skate park while the rest of the Hollice T. Williams project moves through the county process.

Related:Pensacola's skateboarding scene goes back generations. A new skate park excites them all.

The park will have 25,000 square feet of skateable surface area and will feature a beginner area, multilevel skate plaza, and two skate bowls, along with an additional 5,700 square feet of surrounding sidewalk and gathering areas, according to the city.

Pensacola has long had a skateboarding culture, and in fact was home to the second skate park in Florida, the Paved Wave. The Paved Wave Skate Park was ultimately opened in 1976 near the Goofy Golf course on West Navy Boulevard.

At the park, going from a 30-foot ramp into an 18-foot bowl and transferring from that bowl into another bowl allowed a person to feel like they were surfing, hence the name.

Paved Wave was closed in 1979, and since then, skateparks have been few and far between in Pensacola.

The skate park was hugely impactful, but short-lived. It folded in 1979 amid safety concerns, liability issues and an inability to keep up with demand for the latest accessories and gear.

The new Blake Doyle Skatepark will be modeled similarly to the iconic West L.A. Courthouse Skate Plaza in Los Angeles that became a popular spot for skaters because its ledges were perfect for skateboarders to grind and slide on.