Denver, CO

A zebra sanctuary in Park Hill? A wave pool? Denver residents weigh in with ideas for massive new city park

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

A zebra sanctuary in Park Hill? A wave pool? Denver residents weigh in with ideas for massive new city park

Many Denverites’ ideas for what should go in the city’s newest park are on the practical and predictable side: Hiking trails. A pond. A dog park. Maybe even a botanic garden.

Then, there are the wild cards.

A zebra sanctuary, a wave pool, a skijoring training area.

These suggestions, both the realistic and the ones that seem pulled straight from a 10-year-old’s imagination, are just some of the options that Denver Parks and Recreation likely will weigh as officials decide what will be built at the former Park Hill Golf Course property once it becomes a public park.

Residents and supporters look on during a press conference at the Park Hill Golf Course in Denver on Jan. 15, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

In an attempt to get a feel for what Denverites want to see in the new park, The Denver Post conducted an informal online survey this week. As of midday Friday, it had garnered 318 responses.

The 155-acre former golf course in northeast Denver has been the subject of debate and consternation for decades. After several citywide votes over whether the land should remain open space, be developed into housing and shops, or a mix of both, the decision has been announced by Mayor Mike Johnston: the full property will become a park.

When it opens this summer, the not-yet-named park will be the city’s fourth largest behind only City Park, Sloan’s Lake and Washington Park.

But the fight over the land isn’t totally over.

In the next round, city officials will weigh which amenities they should pursue for the future park. While the area will open initially as open space, Parks and Recreation plans to solicit feedback, a process that will inform how officials develop the park further.

The city has suggested it may add some lower-cost developments to the park, like picnic tables or a disc golf course, as it builds a long-term plan.

Officials will rake through input from residents near and far, consider the city’s bank account, design a park, and — almost certainly — leave some, or many, residents frustrated when their ideas lose out.

Here’s some of what The Post learned in its survey: Of 15 potential amenities listed in the survey as options, seven received more than 100 votes from the respondents (who could choose more than one).

They were, in descending order: Hiking trails, a playground, picnic tables, a pond or lake, a botanic garden, a dog park, and a performance space or stage.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said hiking trails were an amenity they wished to see in the park.

Those who answered also had an opportunity to say which amenity they most wanted. Twenty-four people said walking trails were the amenity they dreamed of the most, while 20 said a dog park, 16 said pickleball courts, 14 said a golf course and nine said a disc golf course.

Here are some of the suggestions residents made when given a “fill in the blank” option. Answers are transcribed almost exactly as they were written:

Dog park!
Anything but another dog park
SKATE PARK (CAN BE SMALL)
Could we make part of it a zebra sanctuary?
Skijoring training area
Kid stuff
TREES
Artificial wave machine

Some of the most creative ideas:

A city-funded vet office for wildlife so there is a place where people can bring injured wildlife
Locking wooden stocks for public shaming
Film at Park Hill showing movies on a big screen
Roller rink

About 80 of the respondents said they lived in Park Hill neighborhoods.

Irene Andress, 70, has lived in the area for the last 10 years. A frequent visitor of City Park, Andress hopes the city will build a pond to bring in migratory birds to Park Hill. She would also love to see a bike loop.

“We don’t have great trail access here at Park Hill,” she said. “We just need something where you can get in your regular exercise.”

A man walks his dog through the shuttered Park Hill Golf Course on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

Shontel Lewis, who represents the neighborhood on the Denver City Council, said it’s early in the feedback process but, mostly, her constituents just want to be a part of the decision-making process around the park’s development.

“And that doesn’t mean that it’s not a park for everyone,” Lewis said. “The residents can have the opportunity to design what they believe the vision for that park should be, and it can be a park that is open to the public and meets the needs of the greater Denver metro area.”

The city is in the process of formally acquiring the property through a land trade deal with the owners, Westside Investment Partners. Pending council approval, Johnston has agreed to give the developers a 145-acre parcel of land the city owns near Denver International Airport.

Denver Parks and Recreation hasn’t yet started to solicit feedback, but residents can sign up to be notified once the process has begun on its website. The city plans to build upon input it has received in the past with surveys, pop-up events, public meetings and open houses, said Stephanie Figueroa, a spokesperson for the parks department.

The park’s development will be funded through a 2018 voter-approved 0.25% sales tax called the Parks Legacy Fund, which dedicates dollars for parks, trails and open space in the city.

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Denver, CO

DEA raids party, arrests nearly 50 undocumented immigrants and TdA gang members

Published

3 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

DEA raids party, arrests nearly 50 undocumented immigrants and TdA gang members

Federal agents interrupted a party at a “makeshift nightclub” in north Denver early Sunday morning and arrested almost 50 people of undetermined immigration status, a large number of whom are reportedly affiliated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.

A spokesperson with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division told CBS Colorado that the immigration status of all the arrestees was “questionable” and being examined.

DEA agents, along with others from the Denver offices of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted an early morning raid. They entered a building at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard when had been coverted into a “makeshift nightclub,” as described by the DEA in a social media post.

Federal and local law enforcement personnel enter a building early Sunday morning located at 6600 block of North Federal Boulevard. The operation targeted drug traffickers and members of the Tren de Aragua gang originating from Venezuela. Approximately 50 people were arrested, all of whom are having their immigration status examined, per a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration/X

Drugs, weapons and cash were seized.

The operation targeted drug trafficking and members of the TdA gang, the DEA stated.

After those 50 undocumented immigrants were taken into custody by the DEA, they were handed over to ICE, according to Steffan Tubbs of the DEA-Rocky Mountain Division.

An ICE spokesperson contacted Sunday morning did not want to comment on the specifics of its role in the bust or speculate on how many of the arrestees would be held locally on criminal charges or immediately deported. A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado also declined to comment Sunday morning about potential federal charges against the arrestees.

TdA gang activity partly to blame for unsafe conditions at several apartment buildings in Aurora. City officials there announced last week their intent to seek closure of the five remaining buildings in the Edge of Lowry complex at Dallas Street and East 12th Avenue. Residents have already been asked to vacate a sixth building in which a migrant couple was taken captive and beaten by alleged gang members late last year.

Nineteen people were arrested last month by Aurora Police Department officers in December as a result of their investigation into that incident. Sixteen of the 19 arrestees were at that time believed to be TdA members.

A door at the rear of the building raided early Sunday morning by federal agents.

CBS

Aurora officials took over management of the buildings from CBZ Management. A judge appointed a new manager to oversee the sixth building as tenants seek new housing. They’ve been given a Feb. 18 deadline to be out of the Edge of Lowry apartments.

The City of Denver announced Friday its own closure of a CBZ managed apartment building, also for reported unsafe living conditions.

Police tape still surrounds the building at 6600 North Federal Boulevard mid-morning Sunday following a raid by federal agents hours earlier. The building is located in unincorporated Adams County.

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CBS

An undisclosed number of officers from local police agencies supported the federal raid.

Logan Smith

Logan Smith is an assignment desk editor at CBS Colorado in Denver with more than 30 years of journalism experience in digital, television and print media.

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Denver, CO

Broncos returning to AFC title game not so far-fetched

Published

12 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Broncos returning to AFC title game not so far-fetched

Good morning, Broncos Country!

The Denver Broncos have played in 10 AFC Championship Games.

That sits fourth in NFL history behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (16), New England Patriots (15) and Las Vegas Raiders (11). Of those teams, only the Patriots have a better record in AFC title games than Denver. New England is 11-4, and the Broncos are 8-2.

The Broncos haven’t been to an AFC title game since the 2015 season but seem to have the path back. As the AFC Championship Game kicks off today from Arrowhead Stadium, these two teams give us a glimpse of the competition the Broncos have and what it’ll take for Denver to return to their 11th AFC title game.

Based on the results against the Bills and Baltimore Ravens this season, the Broncos aren’t close. But moves this offseason to give Bo Nix offensive weapons and shoring up the defense that dropped off the last month or so of the season will be huge. The first step was made getting into the AFC Playoffs. Now the franchise needs to take the next steps to reach the level of the Bills and the Chiefs.

For the last nine years, when the AFC title game has been played, Denver has seemed so far away from returning that you start to wonder if it ever will. For the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 and Peyton Manning retired, there’s hope. There’s a plan. There’s a quarterback, head coach, general manager, and ownership all aligned to get the Broncos back to competing for and winning the AFC Championship.

If all goes well this offseason, playing in Denver’s 11th AFC title game isn’t so far off after all.

And FUKC. Go Bills!

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Denver Broncos offseason positional outlook: Outside linebackers | 9news.com
Bonitto has made this a position of strength. He’s also in position to strike it rich.

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How Dan Snyder views Commanders’ title run: ‘He … hates it’ – ESPN
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NFL playoffs conference championships: Picks, schedule, odds, injuries – ESPN
Commanders-Eagles and Bills-Chiefs are on deck Sunday. We preview both matchups, including game picks.

Source: Titans, Browns, Giants asked Shedeur Sanders to not practice at Shrine Bowl – Yahoo Sports
Sanders is widely viewed as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this upcoming draft.

NFL conference title game predictions: Who decides Super Bowl matchup?
The Super Bowl 59 matchup is almost set. Who will be the key figures who help determine the winners of the AFC and NFC title games?

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