Denver officials consider new park by South Platte River, worry about cost overruns and impact

Denver officials are worried about potential cost overruns and environmental impact on the South Platte River, even as construction projects move ahead in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood and the city considers a neighborhood park.

The proposed new park — which will incorporate a dog park — will be built in the area west of the South Platte River and east of Alcott Way, bound to the north by west 11th Avenue and the south by west 9th Avenue.

Sun Valley’s proposed park required an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Denver Housing Authority worth $8.5 million over three years. The land is owned by DHA, which will pay $5.5 million for the park, while Denver will provide $3 million. After construction, all the land will be transferred to Denver, according to city documents.

Councilmembers generally support the park's construction but they sought to ensure the city remains cognizant of treating the river water properly.

Historically, the South Platte River was a “dumping ground” for the generations that came before, Councilmember Amanda Sandoval said during a hearing of the new South Platte River Committee, which the council created to ensure projects along the river don't adversely harm the water or the people near it.

One reason for establishing the new committee is to learn from past mistakes so the city can "move forward in the future," said Sandoval, who recalled how the construction of Shoemaker Plaza near REI's central location and Confluence Park caused cost overruns and project delays as a result of needed environmental remediation.

“I always am nervous when we are going into the river, even with the Army Corps of Engineers, because as a council aide, I was so excited about the Shoemaker Plaza project, and the project went on and on and on,” she said. “And I don't even know if it doubled or tripled in the amount needed because of the environmental remediation that we had to do.”

Shoemaker Plaza was originally slated to cost $4.6 million. After the discovery of coal tar in the soil, work was halted and remediation work ensued, causing the price to roughly double.

By the end of all the work, including environmental remediation, the cost cost had increased to $8.25 million.

“The fact of the matter is we probably don't even know what we're going to find,” Sandoval said of the proposed new park.

When problems come up, Sandoval said the South Platte River Committee provides a place for people to work the problems out and find money to address them.

The river largely bisects the city, roughly following the Interstate 25 corridor north to Interstate 270, flowing through neighborhoods like Ruby Hill, Valverde, River North and Five Points and both Globeville and Elyria/Swansea.

Though Sun Valley does not have major industrial zones like Globeville and Elyria/Swansea, the park plan includes a dog park, which also worries Councilmember Kevin Flynn.

Flynn asked how the river would be protected from park and street runoff since there was no obvious mechanism for filtration.

“The park itself sits on top of retention basins that service the entire development, so there's big underground vaults... there's also surface level water quality protection,” Zack Lovato, the project manager, said. “This will help filter out any impurities before the water actually makes it to those vaults and when those vaults get to a certain level, they will then outfall into the river.”

The filtration methods are the same used by the Division of Green Infrastructure and can be found at River North Park and the Carla Madison Recreation Center, Lovato noted.

Construction of the park is expected to start in fall and take nine to 12 months to complete, city officials said.

The project also comes in the shadow of two proposed major projects around Denver stadiums.

One, a redevelopment around Empower Field at Mile High, appears to have stalled indefinitely, as the stadium district attempts work with the Broncos ownership group.

Another, proposed in 2022 by the Kroenke Sports Entertainment group, appears to be gaining traction. It will redevelop the parking lots serving Ball Arena into mixed use buildings and park space. The proposal does not have a date of appearing before the city council, but the first steps have been taken to advance it.