Iowa City is beginning a $1.5 million project to expand Terrell Mill Skate Park, a public skate park featuring ramps, rails, and bowls designed for local skateboarders, bikers, and scooter riders on 1201 N. Dubuque Street.

The city will pay $1.5 million and use a $250,000 federal grant provided by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to fund the project. 

The city is in the process of finding a contractor, but expects to start construction in March 2026 with a planned date of completion in November 2026. The park will remain open during the construction process. 

The expansion will add a mix of shallower and deeper bowls along with a pump track, a layout of rollers and banked turns allowing bikers to “pump” their bodies up and down as they ride rather than pedaling to generate momentum. 

Juli Seydell Johnson, Iowa City director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said the city’s decision to go forward with the expansion came from a demand from bike riders and skateboarders wanting more space from the park, which was constructed in 2003. 

“Skate park users came to us three or four years ago with some concerns and just wanting more,” she said. “The park is pretty well used, and they were wanting us to do more in that area.”

Johnson said the shallower bowls will allow beginner skaters to tune their skills, drawing in more people in the community who want to engage with the sport. 

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“We don’t have a very beginner-friendly area with the current skate park that’s out there,” she said. “So this will add an area specifically for beginner skaters to learn on, as well as some new areas for more advanced skaters to use.”

Iowa City already has an active outdoor recreational environment, boasting over 60 parks and trails. Johnson said she is excited to see the park seamlessly integrate into the existing outdoor recreation scene. 

“This provides one additional type of outdoor recreation scene,” she said. “We’ve seen our skate park being really well used, we’ve heard from a lot of the bicycle community wanting the pump track feature. It just really adds to the amenities. It’s things we haven’t had in the past.”

Dustin Eubanks, the youth bike coordinator of the Iowa City Bike Library, said he trusts the city to make the expansion after the city constructed the Ice House Single Track Trail in August 2024, a mile-long trail for mountain and cross-style cycling running along the Iowa River.

“The addition of the Ice House Trail has been really huge for having an intro to mountain biking option that is relatively close to the bike library,” he said.

Eubanks said there is a growing demand for spots that can host bicycle motocross, or BMX, a sport where cyclists ride small bikes for freestyle tricks like street riding and dirt jumping. 

Eubanks said he foresees the proposed pump track being a hotspot for BMX riders, a scene severely lacking in Iowa City. He said many kids disregard Terrill Mill as it currently stands which could change with the renovations. 

“They know about Terrill Mill, but they usually just say it’s too small, or that they’ve kind of done everything,” he said. “I don’t really have anywhere else to send them in town. The closest place to do a higher-level pump track circuit has been Cedar Rapids.”

Eubanks said he has noticed a growing number of kids visiting the shop, which brings along with it an increased number of kids wanting to participate in BMX.

“Mountain biking has gotten a ton of attention. Gravel biking has gotten a ton of attention. It feels like BMX and stunt biking are primed to also have the facilities and the funds look their way for a moment to round out the bike experience in Iowa City,” he said. 

David Heitbrink, executive board president of Bicyclists of Iowa City, or BIC,  said he appreciates that the pump track will be made from concrete rather than dirt, so it can remain open when it rains. BIC is made up of nearly 400 Iowa City cyclists.

While he said he appreciates the park’s renovations, Heitbrink said some infrastructure challenges in the city remain.

He said in the Highway 380 and Forevergreen area, it is challenging for bikes to get across because there is currently no bike lane. 

“It’s either four miles north or south to get across that,” he said.  “That’s frequently where the interstates are a big issue because those are pinch points and the roads there get busy.”

Heitbrink said he hopes the city looks to a model like Coralville, which built the Iowa River Landing, providing trails to get around the interstate.

In the meantime, Heitbrink said the park renovations will provide residents with a great spot to teach beginner bikers.

“This is a family-oriented park, and things like this are really great for teaching balance and motor coordination skills,” he said. “So it’ll be great to see.”