AMHERST, N.Y. — It's a project more than six years in the making.

"It's cool to see an idea and a bunch of people just support it. It's really cool. It's touched my heart," said Alix Rice Peace Park Foundation president, Jon Fulcher. 

He never met Alix Rice before she was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding her long board back in early July 2011. She was 18 years old. 

"I saw her mom on TV and it inspired me to get involved," said Fulcher. 

Fast forward and the Alix Rice Peace Park, located in the parking lot of the Northtown Center in Amherst,  is less than a month away from its grand opening.

A labor of love aimed at keeping Alix's memory alive and giving area kids a place to skate safely.

"She'd probably be embarrassed. She wasn't that type of attention-getting person," said Tammy Schuler, Alix's mother. "She was more like a kind person who liked to do things behind the scenes." 

Schuler has been involved with the project all the way and as construction continued Friday she planned a way to add a personal touch, so young skaters would remember her daughter.

"I have her original long board she bought four years before she died. And I'm going to dip the wheels in the wet concrete over in the corner and I have a pair of shoes I'm going to dip in the concrete and make a little memorial for Alix and Herman. Herman was the long board's name," said Schuler. 

The project couldn't be done without the help of the community with grants, donations and volunteer labor giving the park life.

"They sacrificed so much of their own time to see something good happen from this tragic event," said Richard Rice, Alix's father. 

"So many people across Western New York area feel justice was not served and this is kind of the way for the community to say we care about you even though that didn't work out this did," said Schuler. 

Dr. James Corasanti, who hit Alix as he drove home from the Transit Valley Country Club, reached a settlement with Alix's parents in a civil lawsuit in 2015. A portion of that settlment was used to fund the creation of the park. 

With an August 4 opening date just weeks away, those who spent more than half a decade working on the park hope it will be well received and will preserve Alix Rice's memory.

"I'm pretty sure she'd think it's cool," Fulcher said. "I think hopefully she's looking down on us doing all this."