DENVER — In Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood, there’s still no sign of the park that residents said they were promised years ago — just an empty lot surrounded by a chain-link fence.
The fenced-off land is slated to become Riverfront Park, an 11-acre green space along the South Platte River with a playground, dog park, community gardens, open fields and other amenities.
Nearly a decade after city leaders committed to the project as part of a massive redevelopment, neighbors told Denver7 | Your Voice that they are still waiting.
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“It looks like a lot of dirt,” said Jeanne Granville, president of the Sun Valley Community Coalition, as she looked across the bare lot. “There’s nothing here. People see me coming and say, ‘Are we going to talk about the park again?’ We’ve got hundreds of families moving back — many with children — and right now they’re playing in hallways, in elevators or in the street.”
A promise and a delay
In 2017, plans reviewed by Denver7 projected Riverfront Park’s completion date as 2024.
Granville said the park has always been part of the vision for Sun Valley’s transformation under the 2016 $30 million HUD Choice Neighborhood grant, which also funded hundreds of new mixed‑income housing units.
Now, the Denver Housing Authority projects the park will be finished sometime between mid‑2026 and mid‑2027.
Phase One — six acres including a playground area — is funded at $8.5 million, with design and permitting being finalized.
Phase Two — the remaining five acres — still needs environmental remediation and millions more in funding before construction can begin.
An equity and safety issue
City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, who represents Sun Valley, said the lack of safe outdoor play space is an equity issue.
“Apart from the rec center, there really isn’t another place for hundreds of kids to spend their time,” Torres said. “Fairview Elementary’s playground is fenced off after the school closed. We want Sun Valley to be a complete neighborhood — and this park is critical to that. It’s a huge question why it hasn’t started. I thought the money was there. Phase One should be coming, and it should be coming fast.”
In an email, a Denver Housing Authority (DHA) spokeswoman said environmental cleanup and coordination with nearby river and flood mitigation projects have slowed progress.
Bond funding
On Tuesday, Denver voters passed the Vibrant Denver bond package, which earmarked $5 million in city bond money for environmental cleanup and site preparation for Riverfront Park’s Phase Two.
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Even with that boost, DHA estimates the total cost to complete the entire park will exceed $20 million, in part due to rising construction costs.
Granville said she is grateful the city included the park in the bond package but worries it won’t be enough.
“What I’m worried about is there doesn’t seem to be a commitment — a path forward — to raise the funds we still need,” she said. “There are a lot of priorities in the city, and I just hope we’re not forgotten.”
Interim amenities
DHA points out that its redevelopment work has already delivered 965 apartments across seven buildings and three construction phases, along with green spaces and playgrounds within those developments for resident use.
The authority has also built a community grow garden, opened a local fresh food market, and plans to open a small-format food hall in 2026.
Granville and other community members acknowledge these additions but say they can’t replace a central, public park.
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