Plans to remodel Rhodes skate park moving quickly

BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) -- With a million dollar jumpstart from the Albertson Foundation, plans are moving quickly to turn a downtown Boise eyesore into a sight to behold: a world-class skateboard park.

And the Albertson Foundation is also donating some $250,000 for landscaping to compliment the 20-year-old skate park's make-over.

"(The foundation's) idea is very much aligned with the city's idea," said Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway. "Let's make this area a really nice, re-energized part of the city."

A possible groundbreaking in May means people who have been using Rhodes Park as a homeless harbor must pack up and move.

Obviously, when the area becomes a construction zone, people will no longer be able to hang out there.

Some homeless people who've been living at the skate park believe that's the real motive behind the renovation.

"They're just doing it to get rid of us," said Matthew Mitchell. "So first of March, we're gone. I got a camp site about half a mile away from here. Other people are going to camp there too. We're not supposed to, but where else are we going to sleep?"

The remodel of Rhodes skateboard park clearly means change -- but in different ways for a growing city and for some people, whose future is less than certain.

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