When the news hit two years ago that Justin Bokma had died in a shooting, it sent a shockwave through the Toronto skateboard scene he had dominated in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It's why people like Wes Loates are working with Build for Bokma, a non-for-profit organization that's partnering with The Bentway to create a skate park commemorating the pro skateboarder.

Opening this weekend under the Gardiner Expressway, the park will feature "skateable sculptures," which will mimic the terrain of streets with materials such as granite, brick and tile.

"it's more beautiful than your typical skateboard park," Loates told CBC's Here and Now Thursday, adding most skate parks are grey and aesthetically unpleasant.

He says it will feature design inspired by architecture from cities like New York, Barcelona, as well as Toronto.

Build for Bokma and The Bentway will also be launching a summer-long program called CITE that will run from June 30 to Aug. 12.

The skateboard park will open this weekend under the Gardiner Expressway. (Submitted by Nicky Young)

The program will include skate clinics, videography workshops, design workshops, screen printing workshops, and building skate structures workshops.

Loates says Build for Bokma hopes to engage younger generations.

"We want to plant the seed within the next generation of kids to know that you can pursue a career within this creative culture and creative arts."

Bokma shot and killed in 2016

Justin Bokma, a mentor to Loates, was killed after intervening in an altercation at a Toronto after-hours club back in 2016.

He had been working as a doorman at the club on College Street when he and a second man were fatally shot.

​"He was a hero to all sorts of young skateboarders because he was famous for that earlier in his life," his friend Richard Lett previously told CBC Toronto.

Loates met him when he was 10 and looked up to him—from his music tastes to his skateboarding style. Loates hopes he can do the same for younger generations through this project.

"He's a huge mentor," Loates said.

"He was just always there to bring light to the situation."