DENVER — Denver’s new Park Hill Park is 155 acres sitting just beyond Kevin Doyle’s backyard.
After living in Northeast Park Hill for more than 20 years, he’s seen the former golf course go from a point of community contention to a space he and his neighbors can enjoy.
▶️ Denver7's East Denver Reporter Ryan Fish heard from neighbors both optimistic and skeptical about the park's future
“I see people jogging, I see bikers, I see moms with their babies,” he told Denver7 Friday. “A lot of people walking their dog, and I even see families walking out here.
“I know that there's a lot of chatter about, ‘Hey, why isn't there something done? Why isn't there something built?’ But this is incredible.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Passage of Vibrant Denver bond allocates $70 million to Park Hill Park transformation
- Neighbors share mixed reactions as City of Denver opens new Park Hill Park
- Park Hill Golf Course: A timeline of its complex history as the Denver community looks to the future
Despite no construction on the land since it opened to the public last fall, and some walking paths in disrepair, Doyle believes the city is doing all it can to maintain the park and prepare to transform it.
“It's going to take them a long time to finish this project, but it's going to be wonderful,” he said. “It's going to be probably our best park in all of Denver.”
It already is the fourth-largest park in Denver. The city’s vision — outlined in a framework released early this year — includes gardens, playgrounds, sports fields and more, along with irrigation work to manage stormwater and prevent flooding.
In November, voters passed the Vibrant Denver bond package, freeing up $70 million for Park Hill Park improvements. Denver Parks and Recreation says that funding “would allow for improvements including establishment of basic park infrastructure (irrigation, landscape, walks, parking lots and drives) as well as park amenities...”
Other neighbors are more skeptical with no construction work being complete yet.
Neighbor Deronn Turner told Denver7 in November that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the project but needed to see “follow-through.” Now, she is in wait-and-see mode and is “not optimistic anymore.”
Turner says historically, neighborhoods like Park Hill have been neglected or served empty promises.
“It always seems like areas that would or should cater to Black and brown people, and young people that are moving into the area, services are always an afterthought for us,” she said. “They give big plans and they say what they want to do, but nothing ever comes to fruition, and it makes me wonder: Are we valued in society like others?”
While the city has been doing maintenance work, construction is still likely on hold for a while.
Denver Parks and Recreation tells Denver7 the plan is to hire a design firm by the end of this year, and then hold more community feedback opportunities in the first quarter of 2027 “as part of the design process.”
