Denver officials envision 5-mile path encircling downtown and a central plaza

Denver officials Tuesday mapped out a 20-year blueprint for improvements to the city’s park and recreational spaces, including a central plaza comparable to San Francisco’s Union Square and a 5-mile-plus path encircling downtown to better connect nine downtown neighborhoods.

“In a city nearing 700,000 people, it’s never been more important to protect, preserve and grow our parks and recreational opportunities,” Mayor Michael Hancock said at Civic Center park during an announcement of the plan. “Our downtown is more than just a series of buildings, streets and lights — it’s where we come together to enjoy culture, have fun, gather as a community, express ourselves as a city and create memories. And today, we’re bringing a renewed focus to our downtown parks and public spaces.”

The ideas are among several that comprise what the city calls the Outdoor Downtown Plan, a multimillion-dollar initiative that broadly looks to expand the city’s urban forest and improve the safety and security of outdoor spaces. Another of those is an arts and culture park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, a nature-inspired kids play area slated for Commons Park and the Denver Loop.

A broader goal of the initiative proposed by Denver Parks

and Recreation and Downtown Denver Partnership involves building more downtown-area parks to address what city parks officials refer to as a “park desert.”

Mark Bernstein, Denver Parks and Recreation’s downtown area planner, says at least half of the downtown study area is considered to be a park desert, which means having to walk more than five minutes to get to a park. The Golden Triangle, Arapahoe Square and Ball Park neighborhoods were identified as areas of focus to increase outdoor spaces.

“That’s why recommendation No. 5 is to build new parks,” he said. “Downtown Denver is really evolving, and we need outdoor spaces to be included in the evolution.”

Wendy Williams, a director of property management for Vector Property Services, said the move to increase outdoor spaces is a smart one that will continue to increase economic growth and interest of companies to build downtown.

“Companies want to know that their employees want to work downtown,” she said. “It’s not just about sitting in an office all day — it’s about the amenities they can provide outside of the building as well.”

City officials also used Tuesday’s event to announce the planned installation of artist Ai Weiwei’s “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads,” which consists of 12 bronze sculptures, each approximately 5 feet tall and 2,000 pounds.

When complete, the sculptures will be on display at the Sea Lion Fountain on the northernmost edge of Civic Center park through next October.