A new chapter for skaters in New Iberia started Wednesday with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new skate park in the city. 

The City of New Iberia has been planning to create a brand new skate park at the site of the old swimming pool, and architect for the project David Allain expects the project to be completed in mid-to-late summer. 

Local skaters as well as public officials were present for the groundbreaking, which took place at the bottom of the swimming pool that is planned to be reconstructed specifically to the needs of the local skating community. 

Grindline Skateparks, a company that constructs skate parks around the country, visited the city about a year ago in order to get ideas and feedback from the local skating community about what kind of park they envisioned for the city. 

Those meetings ended with an outline for the new park, which will include an eight-foot bowl and a street course. 

“We want people to know it’s coming and they can come out and enjoy,” Mayor Freddie DeCourt said. 

For local skaters like Taylen Jules, the completion of the park is something that he would have never expected years ago. 

Having skated at Bayou Wheels Skate Park since he started skateboarding in 2012, Jules remembered the times the skate park had closed down due to aging equipment and other concerns. 

“We just wanted it open so kids could have something to do, but the quality of the ramps weren’t great and people would get hurt,” he said. 

Looking at the construction for the new project, Jules said its completion would be a huge benefit to the local skating community. 

“We thought we wouldn’t get anything better until now,” he said.