The city of Denver is on track to buy property in the Civic Center neighborhood to create a small park at 1028 N. Acoma St. The deal would turn a vacant former bank building into a 0.4-acre public park.

Meeting City Goals

City officials said opening a park there would help the city meet its goal of having all residents within a five-minute walk of green space. Right now, the neighborhood’s only park is the eponymous Civic Center Park, which is undergoing a multiyear renovation.

According to Luke McKay, Denver’s assistant director of real estate, the combined acquisitions that Denver Parks and Recreation has done since 2019 has provided access or 10-minute walker roll access to about 9,600 households. This acquisition alone will provide more access than all those previous projects combined today.

If the Denver City Council approves, the city would pay about $3 million for the property. Lisa Lumley, the city’s director of real estate, noted that the purchase price is $500,000 more than the appraised value.

Lumley said the parks department agreed to the higher price because there are “very few parcels left in this area that have not been truly developed.”

Denver City Council’s finance and business committee approved the deal, but it has to pass a full-body vote later this month. There is no timeline for construction to turn the property into a park. In the meantime, Lumley said there’s potential for the office building on the lot to be used as equipment storage or operational center.

Original reporting: Denverite — read the source article.