Land-swap deal has fans, critics at council meeting

A controversial northeast Denver land-swap proposal for a planned pocket park appears headed for City Council approval after fans and critics sounded off on the idea Monday.

The unusual deal — struck between Denver Parks and Recreation and the developer of the blocklong Park Hill Commons — involves a simple exchange of similar-sized parcels, both about 0.35 acres, on either side of the 2800 block of Fairfax Street. On the east side, the city would build out the park within a mixed-use development of gleaming apartments, offices, retail and townhomes planned by HM Capital, and the developer would chip in $650,000 toward the park’s cost.

HM would get the city’s land across the street, a former Xcel substation purchased in 2015. HM plans to use that vacant property for surface parking in the short term.

Testimony during a hearing Monday night echoed a long-running debate over the possible look and feel of the park in the evolving proposal, which has spurred charges of favoritism toward the developer.

At a basic level, supporters — who slightly outnumbered opponents on the sign-up sheet — focused on the mechanics of the deal. It would jump-start the parks department’s so-far unfunded plan to build a park on the west site.

Some redevelopment has occurred on that side of the block, too.

“It just seems fairly obvious that it is a win for the neighborhood,” said Christina Cryer, who lives nearby on Forest Street. “We get a park sooner rather than later. We save taxpayer dollars. … We still keep the entire piece of land with the city of Denver, and the park is going to be identical.”

But critics largely seized on the symbolism of the proposed swap — including how, to them, it reflected broader socioeconomic currents that have brought an influx of well-off white residents to Park Hill. Several argued it wouldn’t feel like a public park.

One woman who is Latina and black said she and her family wouldn’t feel welcome if they wanted to have a barbecue in the new park.

Added Blair Taylor, who lives several blocks to the south: “I hope you truly consider the repercussions of gentrification in a neighborhood that is so rich with history.”

Another speaker called it “a giveaway deal,” and others blasted the city process for a lack of transparency. “This was not a clean, honest, forthright deal for the citizens,” said Hank Bootz, a longtime parks activist.

The council’s members, while echoing some of those frustrations, voted 12-0 in favor of the proposal on first reading, signaling that it’s likely to win approval in the final vote Aug. 27.