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Waterfront Partnership To Auction Custom Skateboard Decks To Raise Money For Jake's Skate Park At Rash Field Park

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Blocking the city's skyline on Key Highway, construction has dominated Rash Field Park for months.

A cafe, sports fields, nature parks and more are soon to come, but just beyond a green tarp is a masterpiece known as Jake's Skate Park.

The Waterfront Partnership will auction off custom skateboard decks donated by local artists to raise money for the Skate Park to be named after Jake Owens, a 5-year-old sports lover, who died at the hands of a distracted driver.

Dena Jones is one of the local artists.

"It's heartwarming. There are no other words for it," Jones said. "I actually painted lilies on here because I learned they were the flower that symbolizes rebirth."

In 2014, a bill named after Owens was signed into law saying a driver who caused injury or death while talking or texting can go to jail for up to a year along with a $5,000 fine.

Mar Braxton is a volunteer with the Waterfront Partnership.

"Older folks, dads and moms can skate with their kids and people will come from all over the country to this specific park," Braxton told WJZ. "It's at the Harbor, a very prominent public place."

Drone footage may show you a pile of stone, but it's the work from local artists like Jones and Baltimore's own John Waters that will help transform this into a space where Jake's memory rolls on with every skater who comes through Baltimore.

Jones lost a parent at a young age. From the beginning, she felt an emotional connection to Owens and the initiative.

"To be honest, I was in a bit of a slump with making artwork so this was definitely the fire I needed," she said.

Partners include Pro Skater and Baltimorean Joey Jett and the Grindline team. If you'd like to bid on the items, please click here.

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