DENVER — Denver Parks & Recreation announced Tuesday that it is collaborating with planning and design firm Sasaki to transform the former Park Hill Golf Course into a 155-acre public park.
After years of questions about its future, the city announced in January that it was acquiring the former golf course and turning it into an urban public park. This will be the largest addition to Denver’s park system in more than a century.
The planning phase will include community input via a survey and events, such as the Youth & Family Field Day on April 24 at the City of Axum Park from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The city said the park's historical and cultural significance, including its ties to Indigenous and Black communities, will be central to its design.
The Park Hill Golf Course — which has been and still is nestled in a neighborhood of primarily Black residents — first served as an orphanage for white children before the Park Hill Golf Club opened in 1932, the city said. However, until the 1970s, Black guests were not allowed to play at the club. That decade brought in massive talent from Black golfers, including Tiger Woods.
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“Park Hill Park represents an unprecedented opportunity to transform this landscape into a dynamic and inclusive public space. This project isn’t just about designing a park—it’s about Denver’s natural and cultural history as we create a lasting resource for future generations. We’re honored to work with DPR and the community to shape a vision that reflects their needs and aspirations,” Sasaki Principal and landscape architect Anna Cawrse said in a news release.
The Park Hill Golf Course closed in December 2018 after the City of Denver suspended a proposed plan to purchase the land in November 2017. The land was fenced off from the public.
About six months later, in July 2019, the defunct golf course was officially sold for $24 million to Westside Investment Partners. The firm is giving the Park Hill site to the city in exchange for a 145-acre parcel of undeveloped industrial land near Denver International Airport.
Watch Denver7's coverage from January about the City of Denver announcing it would acquire Park Hill Golf Course, and hear from the community, in the video below.
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