In January 2025, Mayor Johnston announced the City’s acquisition of the 155-acre former Park Hill Golf Course—the largest addition of urban parkland since Wash Park in 1901. Once developed, Park Hill Park will become Denver’s fourth-largest park.
Park Hill Park presents a once-in-a-century opportunity to establish Denver as a national leader in urban parks, accelerate environmental resilience efforts, bring valuable assets to an under-resourced neighborhood, and create unique experiences for residents and visitors.
- To learn more about the park visioning and design, visit parkhillpark.org.
- To learn about plans to support the surrounding community and prevent gentrification, including affordable housing, mitigating involuntary displacement, small-business support, safe access to the park, and healthy food access, visit denvergov.org.
Park Hill Park: A Legacy of Public-Private Partnerships
Cities across the country have harnessed private funding to build world-class parks, showcasing the powerful impact of public-private partnerships. Park projects of this scale can cost well over $250 million for visioning, design, and construction—a formidable challenge for a city already balancing urgent needs such as housing, infrastructure, and public safety.
This transformative project calls upon Denver’s visionary leaders, including individuals, foundations, and businesses, to join the city in making a philanthropic investment in the design and construction of the park.
Millennium Park in Chicago, IL, raised $220 million for a 25-acre park from 105 individuals, foundations, and businesses.
Gathering Place in Tulsa, OK, raised over $465 million for a 66.5-acre park, funded primarily by the George Kaiser Family Foundation along with additional public and private contributions.
Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City, NY, raised hundreds of millions of dollars for an 85-acre waterfront park through a public–private partnership blending city and state funding, real-estate–backed revenue, and philanthropic support.
Park Hill Park: Framework Vision
Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) conducted a visioning process to transform the former Park Hill Golf Course into a regional park and worked with Sasaki to develop a vision for what the park could look like, informed by community input. The Vibrant Bond funding is a big step toward realizing much of this vision, but fully realizing the potential of Park Hill Park will require the support of the public, private, individual, and business sectors.
Support Park Hill Park, Join the Legacy
Building on the efforts of the “City Beautiful Movement” in the early 1900s, Denver’s civic leaders, residents, and businesses have a rare chance to shape our city’s landscape and leave a legacy for years to come.
Great Cities Have Great Parks
Top-tier park systems strengthen connectivity and quality of life, attracting people to live, work, and invest in the city. Park Hill Park will elevate Denver’s standing as a national leader in park excellence and innovation.
Support Health and Environment
By adding 155 acres of greenspace and amenities, Park Hill Park advances Denver’s health and environmental goals—improving mental, physical, and social wellbeing while protecting natural resources and building climate resilience.
Build Community Assets
Park Hill Park will serve as a vital resource in a historically underserved community, providing a vibrant public space that reflects the neighborhood’s unique needs and values.
Denver Park Trust & Park Hill Park
Denver Park Trust is the philanthropic partner to Denver Parks & Recreation (DPR), created to bring private and charitable investment into Denver’s public parks system. As an independent nonprofit aligned with DPR’s goals, we focus on fundraising, advocacy, and community engagement to help design, build, and enhance parks—especially in neighborhoods that have historically received less public investment. In the case of Park Hill Park, Denver Park Trust serves as a key philanthropic catalyst, working alongside DPR and local community groups to secure funding, steward donor support, and advance the vision for a new or improved neighborhood park within the broader city parks network.
Interested in supporting Park Hill Park?
Email info@denverparktrust.org to set up a call.