The city of Colorado Springs is planning to buy additional parkland from Academy School District 20 on the northeast side of town.

The 5.75 acres of open space directly south of Cumbre Vista Park is no longer planned to serve the district, so school officials approached the city about buying it, explained Lonna Thelen, design and development manager for the city’s parks department.

The park is expected to serve neighborhoods under construction, such as Powerwood 2, directly west of the park, and the Ridge at Woodmen, south of it. Residents of those areas do not have to cross major streets to get to the greenspace, she said.

It will help the city meet a deficit for parkland in that area, as land originally envisioned to serve businesses has been developed as homes instead, Thelen said. The city’s goal is to provide 5.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.

The $791,740 purchase of open land will create a 10.9 acre park, Thelen said. The total need is between 12 to 13.5 acres, she said.

“We are definitely working toward that,” she said of meeting the parkland standard.

Councilwoman Nancy Henjum and other board members seemed receptive to the purchase, although they did not take a formal vote.

Henjum called the purchase “a super important step,” but noted it could take time for the park to take shape because the city is not setting aside any funding for development costs.