Aerostat Park is scheduled to open in downtown Westminster later this spring.

The neighborhood’s center park location finally has a name, voted on by residents, just months before the locale opens for family fun.

The City of Westminster Parks, Recreation and Libraries announced the official name of the park on March 11 after narrowing down the 249 proposed names to five. Then, 1,671 residents voted on the name, leading to the adoption of Aerostat Park.

The nearly $11 million park will lie within the center of the new downtown area at 5750 W. Central Ave. It is scheduled to open on May 30 and will include an off-leash dog park, play areas, tables and an area for concerts and events.

The downtown area has slowly and carefully developed over the last 14 years. It is bounded by 92nd Avenue to the north, 88th Avenue to the south, Harlan Street to the west, and Sheridan Boulevard to the east.

“The name Aerostat carries meaningful significance as both a recognizable landmark and a reference to the hot air balloons that were a signature feature of the Westminster Mall,” the city said.

The Westminster Mall once sat where the downtown area is being constructed, acting as the pseudo downtown for the city until its demise in 2011.

That area was then purchased in three different chunks between 2009 and 2012 by the Westminster Economic Development Authority after the mall saw a significant decline in tax revenue. 

Those balloons will also be honored by the large sculpture being developed in the middle of Aerostat Park — a hollow, steel hot air balloon made up of bars, mountainous zig-zags and entryways.

The sculpture, tilted “Float Together,” was crafted by New York City design studio Hou De Sousa with a nearly $250,000 budget and will be ready when the park opens.

“The mall was always a gathering place, and the idea was to create a modern community space where people want to be. This area is vital to the Westminster community,” Heather Cronenberg, the real estate development manager for the city of Westminster, told The Denver Gazette in July.