It has taken four years and more than $20 million but the South Newcastle Beach skate park and Bathers Way project is finally complete.
The site was opened to the public on Friday as skaters hit the bowl and terrain park while walkers and cyclists took advantage of the reconnected pedestrian access through to King Edward Park.
The project was plagued by issues since construction began in August 2020, including big swells battering the site, sea wall collapse and the previous builder Lloyd Group falling into administration.
The upgrade was initially quoted as a two-year project and was due to be finished before Lloyd Group went into administration in March 2023.
The initial contract was valued at just over $10 million, which had doubled by the time new contractor Daracon was appointed to the project in 2023.
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said on Friday the site was in a difficult location, and defended the spend by saying Daracon's tender price was similar to the final cost.
"What I see is a project that probably costs what it was always going to cost taking into consideration COVID, cost of construction," she said.
"Realistically what would have been great is probably Daracon to be the original contractors, which is a really similar price to how it ended up."
The Herald reported this week an expert assessment from July 1, before construction was complete, rated the skate park in "very poor condition". Site contractor Daracon said all priority issues from the report had been addressed.
South Newcastle beach surfer and vocal opponent Bernie Wilson responded to that report by describing the skate park as a "vanity project".
When asked about the "vanity project" description, Cr Nelmes said: "if that's what it takes to deliver for Newcastle, I am so proud that in the last decade I've delivered a capital works program of over $1 billion".
She said the site was previously "a very underutilised part of our coastline" with no toilets and "degraded" skate facilities.
"Now we will see not only this missing link of the Bathers Way completed but all this extra amenity," Cr Nelmes said.
"You flash forward 12 months this will be packed with people."
Monster waves have lashed the construction site throughout the years, dragging building materials into the ocean. But Cr Nelmes said the infrastructure had been built to withstand swells.
"The bowl really has been complete here for quite some time," she said. "It's a lot of the other work around Bathers Way and the sea wall and the amenity and the kiosk and some of the finishing work that has been happening.
"We've seen big swells and it's absolutely fine."
Cr Nelmes said of the $20 million, about $6.5 million was spent on the Bathers Way portion, which included the preservation of the heritage stone arches, exercise equipment and upper and lower promenades.
The NSW government contributed $5 million to the project.
A community fun day will be held at the park on August 18 to celebrate the opening.
