Park Hill Park

Cities across the country have harnessed philanthropic giving to build world-class parks, showcasing the powerful impact of public-private partnerships. Chicago's Millennium Park was created with the support of $220M from individuals, foundations, and businesses. Tulsa's Gathering Place Park secured $465M of philanthropic and corporate donations for a 65-acre park. Now, Denver's civic leaders have an opportunity to bring a transformative park to Denver.

In 2025, Denver voters demonstrated overwhelming support for the project, approving $70M for Park Hill Park through the Vibrant Denver Bond. The Denver Park Trust, in partnership with Denver Parks and Recreation, is now seeking private funding to supplement city dollars and ensure a strong start to design and construction, estimated at $100-$125M. With philanthropic investment, Park Hill Park will be a transformative civic asset for generations to come.

This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to shape Denver's future. Spanning 155 acres, Park Hill Park is the largest addition of urban parkland since Washington Park in the early 1900s. The chance to create a vast expanse of green space within the city of Denver may never come around again.

With a $70M bond investment that expires in six years, momentum is growing and philanthropic support is essential to delivering a world-class park for Denver. The time is now. Each year the project extends, it adds approximately $5M in escalation costs. Philanthropic investment preserves purchasing power and saves millions of dollars over the life of the project, bringing more transformative community assets to Denver residents.

The park holds enormous potential for innovative urban resiliency, diverse youth recreation opportunities, and transformative civic assets for generations to come. Located near major transportation routes, including I-70, Colorado Boulevard, and the light rail in Northeast Denver, Park Hill Park creates a gateway for visitors to experience a city unlike any other.

In 2025, more than 8,000 Denver residents participated in surveys, joined open houses, and voiced their hopes and dreams for the park. Together with world-renowned design firm, Sasaki, the community created a vision for the park. Key elements include destination playgrounds and waterplay, community gardens, sports fields and courts, public event space, and 80 acres of natural areas.

While the $70M bond funding is a great start, philanthropic investment is essential to bringing the community vision to life and creating a destination park for Denver.

Urban Conservation
Approximately half (80 acres) of the park's landscape will be transformed into a resilient, diverse, native plant ecosystem. The park will increase Denver’s urban tree canopy, provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and expand access for people to connect with nature. Through thoughtful design, the park will capture and cleanse 100% of on-site stormwater through green infrastructure in parking lots, flow-through wetland, recapture of building runoff, and vegetative filtering.

Recreation Opportunities
Denver parks are in high demand. Requests for field usage and permitted events extend beyond current capacity. By opening new athletic fields, picnic areas, gathering spaces, and recreational amenities, Park Hill Park will relieve overcrowding, meet unmet demand, and attract new participants to recreational programming.

Revitalizing a Historically Under-resourced Neighborhood
Located in the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood, where the poverty rate is 2.4 times the city-wide median, Park Hill Park will be measured not only by its regional draw but by how well it reflects and serves its surrounding community. The park will attract an estimated one million annual visitors, and the demographics will be tracked and compared against neighborhood demographics to assess equitable access and belonging.

The Park Hill Park “Founders Circle” is designed for donors who can contribute $100,000 or more, joining a small group of Denver’s civic and philanthropic leaders working alongside the Denver Park Trust and Denver Parks & Recreation to advance the development of Denver's fourth-largest park. Founders Circle members receive exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes tours, public recognition at press conferences and community events, and first access to naming opportunities for specific park elements.

Donors at any level are invited to connect with Denver Park Trust staff to discuss recognition requests and shape an ongoing partnership as the project moves through design and construction.