It’s official. Denver’s Park Hill Golf Course will return to the city, making it the largest acquisition of private land destined for use as a public park in Denver’s history.

The deal cost the city $13 million, with the money going to Denver International Airport under a land swap deal.  

After more than eight years, city officials announced on Wednesday that they have entered into a land swap agreement with developer Andy Klein of Westside Investments to exchange the now-defunct golf course property for a 145-acre parcel of land in Adams County adjacent to DIA.

“Never before have we acquired this much private land to be able to convert into public space, which is part of our long-term vision to make sure every community has access to public parks that they can either walk to, roll to, or ride to,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said at a news conference on Wednesday at the golf course, 4141 E. 35th Ave.

Specifically, city officials worked an internal transfer of land owned by the city and Denver International Airport, according to Johnston.

“We applied for and received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to be able to use that land,” he said. “We transferred that land from DEN’s property to Parks and Rec, and then Parks and Rec made the trade with the current landowner (Klein) for this asset.”

Johnston added that city paid the airport $12.7 million for the acquisition. The money, which was transferred from Parks and Rec to DIA, came from the Parks Legacy Fund.

The mayor said the property’s owner “did not get any cash payment for the trade.”

Klein did not immediately return a request for comment.

Supporters of the redevelopment had argued that the project would help the historically disenfranchised communities surrounding the 155-acre plot. During the campaign in 2023, backers said the proposed new homes — up to 3,200, one quarter of which would be classified as affordable unites — would lead to increased household stability at a time when the city badly needs more housing. 

In addition to building 2,500-3,200 new housing units, Westside’s plan included donating 100 acres of the plot to the city for use as a regional park, which would have become Denver’s fourth largest.

Following the acquisition, Denver Parks and Recreation will oversee the new park project, the Johnston administration said. Officials expect to open it to the public this summer.

Under the plan, the park will include walking trails and other uses, with picnic tables and other “easy-to-add” amenities that can be delivered quickly. The city did not offer cost estimates on the capital improvements or maintenance of the park.

The long-term vision for the park would be done in collaboration with the community, the mayor said. 

“While we are very excited today to dedicate all 155 acres of this space to be a park, we also know that on both sides of this debate, there was agreement that we still need to make sure that this neighborhood remains affordable and to make sure that this neighborhood does not continue to be a food desert without access to regular and affordable food and groceries,” Johnston said.

“I want to be mindful of the fact that while we are delighted about the addition of a park, we also can’t be blind to the fact that historically, the fastest way to gentrify a neighborhood is to add a park,” Johnston said.

The mayor added that the city will work to ensure the future park remains affordable and accessible to residents.

Park Hill resident Amy Harris, who attended the public event on Monday, said she anticipated the good news, noting term efforts to return the land to the city for public use.

“I think the mayor was very forward thinking in placing the (conservation) easement on the property,” Greater Park Hill Board member Jon Bowman said of former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb.

“We must be intentional about how we develop this space and ensure that this park, while a beacon of progress, does not contribute to the displacement of those who have called this place home for generations, and the transformation of this land should lift up existing residents, not push them out,” District 8 Councilmember Shontel Lewis said.

The Park Hill Golf Course is covered by a city-held conservation easement that requires the property to be used, maintained, and operated as a regulation-length 18-hole daily fee golf course — a measure signed by former Webb in 1997.

The golf course closed in December of 2018.

Westside Investment Partners purchased the property in 2019 for approximately $24 million with hopes of convincing the city to lift the conservation easement placed on the property, enabling plans for a major mixed-use development project.

Voter approval is required to extinguish the easement provision and the construction of commercial or residential buildings.

Voters rejected the proposal in 2023.

Former state Sen. Penfield Tate said the city needs affordable housing but that development should be “built around” — “not on” places like the Park Hill property. 

“We can’t replicate this site anywhere else in the city,” Tate said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and we will never get it back right. … We’ve never seen the City Council presented with the choice, ‘We want to turn out a bunch of buildings to build a park.’”

Webb, the former mayor, said when the city put the conservation easement in, “I never knew how much controversy it would have later in life.”

Webb opposed the development of the Park Hill Golf Course land.

“Developers can develop, but not on park space,” he said.

Johnston insisted that Denver is both “pro-growth and pro-open space.”

“It’s possible to be both, and that’s what today is about,” said Johnston when asked about what message the eight-year Park Hill ordeal for Westside sends to developers. “There are plenty of places to develop that are not on the Park Hill golf course.”