Break out your wheels and head to downtown Miami -- a first-of-its-kind skate park is opening right under Interstate 95 this fall.
The self-described revolutionary skate park is called Lot 11, and it's located near NW 3rd Avenue and 2nd Street.
"Miami, which is a city that is fun in the sun 365, deserves to have a facility like this that puts us on the map from the perspective of skateboarding worldwide," said Nick Katz of Skate Free.
Skate Free is a nonprofit that aims to empower under-served communities through skating. Katz has been skating for over 20 years and is the brains behind the project with Skate Free.
"My mission in all of this is to build the greatest skate facility in Florida and in the United States," he said. "One that Miami has deserved for 30 years, 50 years."
The park's goal is to offer a safe space where youth in the community can go have fun and feel empowered.
Katz also sees skating as an alternative sport for at-risk kids all over Miami.
"Skateboarding for me has taught me perseverance," Katz said. "It’s taught me dedication and discipline. It's taught me that when you fail something and you get up and re-try it again you'll accomplish it through dedication and practice. With skateboarding entering the Olympics in 2020, I hope that there's kids from this community that use this facility to practice and get so good that they can eventually be Olympic athletes."
The park is scheduled to have its grand opening on November 14.
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"It took the effort of a lot of people to make it happen and I'm really proud that on November 14th we'll be able to open the doors and let the community finally have a space that belongs to them," Katz said.
So far $1.8 million dollars has been raised in support of the non-profit project. Learn more about the project on skatefree.org.
