One of Denver’s densest areas is set to gain a new park after nearly 15 years of efforts to add green space.
The 0.4-acre park in the Golden Triangle neighborhood won’t be particularly large when it opens in a few years, but it will break up a sea of concrete in an area seeing massive vertical growth as thousands of new housing units come online.
“It will be part of the pearls on this necklace of connections between Civic Center and a really nice pedestrian connection to Acoma Street,” said Andrew Iltis, a board member on the . “Everyone in the area could benefit from those stronger connections to those green spaces.”
The Golden Triangle is located in the heart of the city’s 10th council district, which has the least amount of park space per resident of the city’s 13 districts, with only 2.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents. The citywide average is 9.4 per 1,000 residents, said Stephanie Figueroa, a Denver Parks and Recreation spokesperson.
Itap also the first time that the district will benefit from the city’s Parks Legacy Fund, which voters approved in 2018 and imposes a 0.25% increase in the city’s sales and use tax. The fund can be used to improve and expand the city’s parks and recreation system.
Councilman Chris Hinds, who represents the district, said the new park is vital for his community, which doesn’t have enough nearby places to connect to the outdoors.
“There are so many documented benefits of having nature nearby,” he said. “That small park will be able to serve thousands of people because of how dense Golden Triangle is.”
Despite a focus on bringing more parks to the district, the city has struggled to find available real estate in the highly competitive neighborhood, said Lisa Lumley, Denver’s director of real estate.
“This is (a goal) that has been within (Parks and Recreation’s) list of assets for almost 15 years; this is the first we’ve been able to identify and actually move forward with,” she told the City Council last week.
of $3.2 million for the lot at 1028 N. Acoma St., which was formerly a credit union owned by local developer Fred Glick, at its meeting last week with an 8-5 vote.
The five council members who voted against the deal were Amanda Sawyer, Amanda Sandoval, Shontel Lewis, Stacie Gilmore and Jamie Torres. They gave various reasons for opposing the transaction. Sandoval said she disagreed with the deal because the city is paying about $500,000 over the appraised value.
Sawyer said that while she approves of the specific project, she is frustrated with the city’s parks department over its struggles to maintain services, including park bathrooms, in her district.
“This is a problem because what my residents are saying to me, and they’re not wrong, is that the dollars that they are paying in taxes are not coming back to them,” she said.
Councilman Paul Kashmann said he would support the project but would be asking “some hard questions” during the upcoming budget process.
“This new park in District 10 will make our city a better place to be. But dear lord, if we can find the money for these major projects, we gots to be able to find the money to take care of the basics,” he said.
The new park in Golden Triangle likely won’t open for several years. The city still needs to rezone the area, and it plans to begin developing the vision for the site in 2028. Parks and Recreation staff will likely use the space themselves in the meantime, Lumley said.
Hinds said he expects a dog park will be one of the designs the city explores as a possibility.
