The City of Greenville issued a formal request for proposals on Tuesday seeking a Construction Manager at Risk to build Wheels Up, the city's long-awaited skatepark and pump track complex, with submissions due by September 17. The solicitation is numbered RFP 27-4017.
According to the City of Greenville
, the announcement confirms that the project has entered procurement. The facility will rise on a 10-acre site at 425 Airport Road, next to the Greenville Downtown Airport and Runway Park, under a municipal ground lease that City Council approved back in September 2024, as reported by the
Greenville Journal
.
What's Actually Getting Built
Wheels Up is planned to include a concrete skatepark, a paved bicycle playground, and an asphalt pump track. Other described amenities include shaded structures, picnic tables, viewing areas, restrooms, parking, and art installations.
The Greenville Journal identifies PORT Urbanism, Spohn Ranch, and American Ramp Co. as involved in the design.
Community Input Shaped 'The Bend' Layout
City leaders finalized designs for Wheels Up after collecting more than 20,000 survey responses over a seven-month public engagement period, according to the Post and Courier. Three public surveys let residents weigh in on preliminary layout concepts before the design was finalized.
Construction is slated to begin in January 2027, with full completion and a grand opening expected in 2028. Engineering and construction documentation are expected to take the next year, while bidding is expected by the end of 2026, per the same Greenville Journal reporting. The project relies on a public-private funding model that combines municipal dollars with naming-rights opportunities.
Filling a Gap Poe Mill Once Covered
Momentum for a municipal skatepark grew as skaters watched the fate of Poe Mill, an improvised skatepark near Poe Mill that was razed for an apartment complex, the Post and Courier reported in 2024. The informal site became the Upstate's de facto skate hub.
Greenville had remained one of South Carolina's largest cities without a public skatepark for years, even as nearby municipalities opened their own facilities, including Spartanburg's Hot Spot Skate Park and Columbia's Owens Field Skate Park, according to the Post and Courier. Local wheelsports enthusiasts had long requested a municipal skatepark.
Once finished, Wheels Up is also designed to plug directly into Greenville's regional trail network. The park will feature a paved multiuse greenway connecting to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail Green Line and is intended to serve as the anchor for a planned four-mile Airport Loop Trail extension, according to city planning documents cited by the Greenville Journal.
With the CMAR proposal deadline now set for next month, the total finalized construction budget, the outcome of the naming rights sales, and the identity of the winning construction firm all remain open questions the city has yet to answer.
