Getting outside
Near Southside's Fire Station Park expands with skate plaza, market square, and dog park
A newly expanded park on Fort Worth's Near Southside will let skateboarders do Ollies while dogwalkers walk Ollie.
The new Dickies Skate Plaza will be the centerpiece of Fire Station Park, which is also getting a dog park, market plaza, community green, and 5,000-square-foot all-wheel track, according to a release.
Designed by Pacheco Koch and New Line Skateparks, the 15,000-square-foot skate plaza will feature "a diverse range of elements for skateboarders of all skill levels connected by skateable pathways throughout the park," the release says.
Construction will start in early 2022 and wrap up by October.
The park expansion is made possible through a $300,000 donation from the VF Foundation — the philanthropic arm of Dickies’ parent company, VF Corp.— and Dickies, the Fort Worth-based global workwear brand (and namesake of Dickies Arena, of course). Plans were unveiled to the neighborhood at an afternoon celebration Wednesday, January 12.
“Fire Station Park is a shining example of a community working together, devoted to creating a park that reflects the desires of the residents,” says Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department director Richard Zavala in the release. “The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department is fortunate to partner with a number of neighborhoods across the city that are committed to improving our park system.”
As the park and skate plaza will sit at a major transportation intersection — Allen Avenue and Hemphill Street — it will be easily accessible by Trinity Metro’s Bus Route 1 and the Near Southside’s protected bike lane network, officials say. In fact, the location was chosen to serve community members who have traditionally lacked easy access to safe places to skate and socialize in the central city, they say.
“From design to funding, the expansion of Fire Station Park and Dickies Skate Plaza is a great example of how the City of Fort Worth meets the needs of our communities through innovative partnership,” District 9 councilmember Elizabeth Beck says in the release. “I’m thrilled to see the results of the collective work that went into this project.”
Members of the Near Southside community have been talking for years about the skate plaza and expanded park; many of the design ideas have come directly from residents. The final piece of the puzzle was the funding. Now all systems are go.
“We’re beyond excited to celebrate the fulfillment of a unique vision for Fire Station Park," says Near Southside Inc. president Mike Brennan in the release. "From the beginning, there was such strong support for the space that ultimately evolved into the park’s showcase feature, the Dickies Skate Plaza.
"The local skateboarding community, led by our friends at Magnolia Skate Shop, delivered grassroots community support and design vision to set things in motion, and Dickies delivered an incredibly generous partnership to bring this showcase community destination to life in 2022.”
To keep up with the project, visit its website.
