DENVER — Residents in the Curtis Park neighborhood are entering another summer without access to a pool in their neighborhood.
Denver Parks and Recreation said the Mestizo-Curtis Park pool and pool house were beyond their useful life and require a full replacement, adding that the pool is planned to reopen the summer of 2028.
For residents in the area, another summer without a pool is detrimental.
“It's like neighborhoods that have minority kids in it, or families, we get the short end of the stick, that's the bottom line, you get the short end of the stick,” said Aurelio Martinez, a Curtis Park resident and one of the co-founders of the Mestizo-Cutris Park Community Coalition.
“The entire neighborhood has been without a pool for going on four years,” he added.
Martinez and other founders of the community coalition are urging residents to attend Denver Parks and Rec’s open house for their recreation centers and pools Tuesday night.
Rosalie Cisneros, another Curtis Park resident and co-founder of the community coalition shared firsthand how the lack of an accessible swimming pool has affected her and her family.
“Last year I had a little tote, and my put my grant, my six year old grandson, he sat in there with water, because that was his pool, because there's no pool here to bring him, you know. So, I mean, it's horrible,” Cisneros said. “We're gonna have these kids have nowhere to go. You go to Glenmarm Park, but Glen Arm Center, but it's an indoor, so I mean, kids ain't gonna want to do that."
She also added that some families don’t have transportation to take their children to other pools, which is the same concern Denver7 heard from residents in the Sunnyside neighborhood after the Aztlan pool was closed.
Martinez and Cisneros shared that one of their recent milestones in the discussion surrounding this pool was advocating for the pool to be 50 meters rather than a 25-meter pool that was presented by Denver Parks and Rec.
They said while they're happy with that development, they're still fighting for some changes with the design, like the entrance of the pool being along 32nd street, which they say is a dangerous street.
A full statement from Denver Parks and Rec. can be found below:
"The existing pool and pool house are beyond their useful life and require a full replacement. The project is following the standard multi‑year design and construction timeline required for a project of this type. This includes comprehensive community engagement to ensure the new design reflects neighborhood priorities and accommodates the required historic landmark review and approval process. Community engagement has started and design is currently on going through the end of 2026. The pool is planned to reopen summer 2028."
Denver7 did send some follow up questions to Denver Parks and Rec. after speaking with residents, but we did not receive a response by the time of this publication.
The open house is scheduled for Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at the Washington Park Recreation Center.
