Residents share their vision for the future of Park Hill Park
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DENVER — Event spaces, a playground, a swimming pool and art honoring North Park Hill’s Black history are among the most popular suggestions for the future of Park Hill Park, according to a feedback session held Saturday at Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center.
“We want some water access, some shade access and an opportunity for gathering for us and for our children to come,” said Helen Bradshaw, a lifelong North Park Hill resident.
Denver voters in April 2023 rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed Westside Investment Partners, which owned the Park Hill Golf Course, to develop housing, retail and a park on the abandoned golf course, which closed in 2018.
The 155-acre plot is currently fenced off, its perimeter lined with “No Trespassing” signs. Inside, dead grass and overgrown weeds stretch across the grounds.
The city acquired Park Hill Golf Course through a land swap with Westside Investment Partners in January 2025 and announced its plans to develop the land into Denver’s fourth-largest park.
Voters in November will decide whether the city should spend $70 million as part of the Vibrant Denver Bond Package to transform the defunct golf course into a park. If Denver voters reject the bond in November, the city will have to find an alternative funding source.
Denver Parks and Recreation staff and Mayor Mike Johnston held the city’s first formal open house Saturday to gather feedback from neighborhood residents about what they’d like from the park.
Earlier this year, parks and recreation staff surveyed 3,511 residents within a 15-minute walk of the park. Respondents’ top priorities were an event space, neighborhood food vendors, a playground and access to parking.
Parks staff acknowledged that the survey’s respondents did not reflect the diversity of the neighborhood near the park. For example, nearly 40% of the people who live within a 15-minute walk of the park are Latino, yet Latinos made up only about 5% of the surveys’ respondents. Over 60% of the respondents were white despite the fact that white residents only make up about a third of the neighborhood.
In 2000, Black residents made nearly 70% of the North Park Hill population, according to census data. Today, that figure is down to about 30%.
Preventing gentrification when the park is developed is top of mind for many Park Hill residents, Bradshaw said.
Half of city staff at Saturday's open house were tasked with speaking to residents about the areas surrounding the park. A grocery store and affordable housing were among neighbors’ biggest concerns.
“What we've often seen is that regional parks can draw interest from new businesses, new housing and outside investment that can bring rents up for business owners and for people who are renting homes in the neighborhood,” said Sarah Showalter, Denver Community Planning and Development planning services director.
In order to mitigate displacement, Denver could offer property tax relief or partner with community land trusts to purchase houses and make sure they stay at fixed rates, Showalter said.
“My prayer is that the park will have space for Black residents and Black history, because when new people move in, there’s that unfortunate potential that the community loses its history,” said Rev. Eugene Downing, pastor at New Hope Baptist Church, which sits about a mile from Park Hill Park.
The city will hold another open house in November. Fences around the golf course will be taken down this fall, and the park could be open to the public within the next few years.
Type of story: News
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.