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10 30 24 Downtown Parks Program Manager Jenna Harris discusses Civic Center Next 100
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Jenna, thank you so much for your time this morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me. I'm a huge fan of the Civic Center Park area and the events and festivals that take place in and around it. What were some of the main design updates or thoughts for the future of Civic Center Park following last night's meeting? Absolutely. So actually, starting in 2021, Denver Parks and Recreation has been leading an initiative that we've been calling the Civic Center Next 100, and it's basically looking at revitalizing the Civic Center Park for the next 100 years. Last night's meeting really focused on the first phases of implementation for this vision that focuses on improvements to the Greek theater and the central promenade, which is the central spine of the park specifically. Talk about the meeting. Talk about what went on, what was discussed. Absolutely. So we have some really exciting design updates that have been led by a world-class design team that we've hired. Studio Gake Architects is leading the vision plan for the park. They just recently completed the Populist Hotel in the Civic Center District, so we have a really amazing design that we brought forth to the public. The key elements that really are going to change the Civic Center for the future is of course we want to preserve the amazing historic character of the park. Civic Center Park is Denver's first national historic landmark, but we recognize that the park can really do more today. Civic Center hosts amazing large-scale events, but we really want to enhance daily activity. We also are looking specifically at modernizing the performance venue at the Greek theater, so we'll be able to host a huge range of scales and types of performances that today are really cost prohibitive to the community to host. We'll also be including flexible event spaces, so really just thinking about estimating Civic Center Park more days of the year with more people, a larger draw for visitors, but also downtown residents. And we'll also be creating really a new cultural destination. Civic Center Park has really been the center of civic life in Denver. It's our most important public space, but it really can host a wider array and diversity of community programming. Jenna, what were some of the concerns you heard from residents or how do people see the future of this park looking like? What could be some of the immediate changes and could it impact any of those festivals or events that take place year-round at the park? Absolutely. So Civic Center Park being our most important public space. Of course there are always concerns and such a beloved space in our community. But I think any changes to this space are always met with some level of concern. Of course people are concerned about safety and about access to basic amenities like restrooms and water. There are concerns about the park being closed for a period of time following the other construction downtown, like the 16th Street Mall, and there are always concerns about how the historic character will be preserved and maintained and really enhanced with the new improvement. And then to answer your question about park closures during construction, the park will be impacted during construction. We will be breaking ground in fall 2025 and we will be completing construction in early 2027. We are working with our CMGC contractor who has already been hired very closely to make sure that parts of the park remain open and accessible and that we really have a strategic plan for construction that allows for as much of the park to be open as we can. Of course there will be impacts to events during this time. The largest of large events in Civic Center, like Cico de Mayo or Pride Fest, will be impacted. But we are working closely with both our contractor and our internal permitting team to either help adjust those events or to relocate them to other locations during construction. Final question from us, Jenna. When people were talking about the safety piece, how much of the safety piece is having more people that work in the safety space, whether it's police or security and the like there? And how much of it comes to the design of Civic Center Park, the new designs, can that help encourage people to come back and did they talk about discussing any of those issues with you? Absolutely. So this is a question that we get a lot related to downtown parks and I think the question is always kind of twofold. There are a lot of things that we can do through design and I'm really excited. Hopefully we can share a link to the plan, to the images so that listeners can view those as well. We are making significant changes that improve sight lines and really create a dynamic space for people together. More people, more positive activity really helps so much in terms of the perception of safety and just the feeling of vibrancy in a park. We're also looking at detailed changes related to lighting and to visibility, all kinds of specifics related to the perception of safety within the design. But I think we also recognize that in additional level of maintenance and security is really critical for our downtown parks. In the Hancock administration, additional funding was added to Civic Center's budget for both maintenance and for ranger presence in the park and that has made a dramatic difference in the safety and security and feeling of Civic Center Park today and will continue to work on improving that level of service within our downtown parks. Was there another part of the question? I can't remember all of something. Just talking about it. And literally having just more people there besides the design there, just more people in place, more security, more police in the area making the park safe. Absolutely. So, you know, the presence of people, the presence of positive activity, I can't say enough about how far that goes. And really just, you know, we are, you know, planning and dreaming about all the amazing activities that can be hosted in the new space that's really more hospitable, more cost-effective to host just a large amount of programming in Civic Center Park throughout the year. Building Civic Center Park's next 100 years, it's downtown parks program manager Jenna Harris. Thank you so much for your time this morning. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC.