Chapel Hill to begin renovations on Homestead Skate Park

After the completion of its redesign phase last month, the Town of Chapel Hill plans to begin renovations for the skatepark at Homestead Park in mid to late 2025.

The park — which first opened 25 years ago —serves skateboarders, rollerbladers and BMX bikers, Atuya Cornwell, the director of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation, said.

Cornwell said the Town does not yet have specific information about when the park will close for renovation and how long it will be closed. However, he said the park currently remains open for use.

The Town partnered with 5th Pocket Skateparks, a skater owned-and-operated firm that works to design custom skateparks to accommodate a wide variety of skill levels. 5th Pocket Skateparks also designed and built the Hillsborough Skate Spot, which opened in July. 

In a video from public radio station WHYY Philadelphia, 5th Pocket Co-Owner Jesse Clayton said the firm tries to include urban-style features such as ledges and handrails into its designs. Some of these elements appear in renderings the Town shared of the Homestead Skatepark design on their website.

“I think a lot of public spaces are a little homogenized, a little standardized — I don’t want to use a negative word, but kind of stale," Clayton said in the video. "Whereas skateparks, if done by someone who really puts a good amount of effort into it, they can really be fascinating and pretty incredible public spaces."

Clayton said in a press release from the Town that the new design was informed by community input and the firm met with 40 local skaters of various ages to discuss the project.

"We heard loud and clear that the local skate community wants to preserve the spirit of this historic park, while making some upgrades and adding some modern touches,” Clayton said in the press release.

The new design will incorporate a variety of elements that will cater to both beginner and intermediate skaters, according to the press release. The park’s current wood framed ramps will also be replaced with steel-reinforced concrete.

“We are excited to move this project forward by leveraging both local and federal funding to create a new amenity that honors the past while making improvements for present and future skaters,” Cornwell said in the press release.

The design phase of the project received $12,000 in funding from the Penny for Parks Fund, which aims to support the Town's parks and recreation facilities. The construction phase will receive $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Last year, the Town asked community members about how ARPA funding should be spent. A list was compiled of 21 possible projects for the community to vote on and the top four projects were approved by the town council.

Noah Malinow, the UNC Skate Club director of technology, said he looks for skateparks that offer a more mellow atmosphere.

“You can have really big obstacles and gnarly obstacles, but it’s always nice to have obstacles that aren’t super big so that everyone can hit them,” he said.

Local skater Khalil James said the Chapel Hill skating community has grown in recent years.

"Quarantine was a big factor in the skate culture and [it] coming up [from] people having time of their own," James said.

James also said he would like to see a mixture of transition and street elements in the new design.

“We’re excited about the next phase, and we’ll continue to share with the community as we go through this project,” Cornwell said.

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