Development vs. Open Space at a Denver Golf Course

A developer just bought a Denver-area golf course in the hopes of some day rezoning the site for residential and commercial development. Open space advocates have other ideas, as does the city (for now).

1 minute read

August 10, 2019, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


City Park Golf Course

A view of Denver from the City Park Golf Course, located down the road from the Park Hill Golf Club. | David Herrera / Flickr

"While Denver was hosting urban planners from 18 nations recently for a conference on green space, residents were launching a campaign to preserve 155 acres of open space at the Park Hill Golf Course, which was sold to a developer last month," reports Bruce Finley.

The Park Hill property is subject to a 1997 conservation easement that requires the land to work either as a golf course or other recreational uses, like ball fields or tennis courts.

"That easement remains even after Westside Investment Partners bought the land for $24 million last month," according to Finley. "But Westside managing principal and founder Andy Klein aims to persuade City Council members to change the easement and rezone the property, which they have the power to do, to allow residential and commercial construction."

That's where Save Open Space Denver (SOS Denver)and the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation come in—the organizations are advocating to preserve all 155 acres of the land in keeping with the easement.

According to Finley, the entire drama is playing out in context of a larger controversy about the role of open space in the future of Denver—a city that envisions itself as a "city within a park."

Meanwhile, the golf course is closed as the city implements a new stormwater management system on the site as part of a $1.4 billion citywide effort.

Sunday, August 4, 2019 in The Denver Post

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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