ST. LOUIS — The Sk8 Laborious church-turned-skate park and nonprofit group on the north side of St. Louis burned down in the middle of the night in June.
“We’re pretty sure it was an electrical fire; a lot of the wiring in the building was old,” co-owner of Sk8Liborius Bryan Bedwell said. “It started in the building next door to the rectory, and then it just kind of migrated because of how the winds were that night.”
“Moving forward right now, we’re currently in the assessment phase. We have some engineers and some architects that are coming through to take a look at everything and see what we can keep and what we can’t keep, but we’re not giving up,” said Bedwell. “We’re going to try to do the best we can. And continue to have the space to be open to the community; try maybe, possibly, to build our skate park.”
Community support has played a pivotal role in the efforts to rebuild Sk8 Laborious. Among the numerous supporters, Mission Taco, a local restaurant chain, stands out.
Jay Sanchez, a chef at Mission Taco, recounts how the restaurant decided to contribute after learning about the fire.
“Once we found out about the accident, we put our heads together,” said Sanchez. “So we decided to come up with a “McTwist” Taco, which is a riff on a Big Mac. Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a flour tortilla.”
Some of the money from the sales of this taco at Mission Taco’s Kansas City and St. Louis locations goes to helping Sk8 Laborious rebuild.
In the process of restoring Sk8 Laborious, not only do they want to rebuild it physically, but they are also trying to imagine its future. Bedwell says that the group is thinking about different choices, like using the walls of the current building to make an open-air skate park. This creative idea could give the room a unique feel, like European ruins, while also giving skaters and the community a place to hang out.
The cost is steep, though. “We’re looking at around a million, probably,” said Bedwell.
As part of their plan to include everyone, Sk8 Laborious plans to run a program to get the community involved and get ideas for the restoration. This group effort is meant to make sure that the views and wishes of the community are taken into account in the plans for development.