2023 - 2024
Late 2024
2025
2027-2028
The Civic Area Phase 2 Project will build on the 2015 Park Plan and continue the design effort to transform this important public space to encompass vibrant urban living, diverse cultural events, a connection to nature and a place that honors the complete history of the area while serving the community of Boulder.
From October to December 2024, the project team and community connectors conducted the project’s second engagement window to confirm “What We Heard” in the first window and gain feedback on early design ideas for the Civic Area.
During Engagement Window 2, community members were asked to vote for their favorite design diagram and park features and to provide open-ended feedback about the design ideas. This engagement activity will help the project team prioritize which improvements to pursue within the project budget. Throughout this engagement window, the project team reached:
Below are two diagrams the project team created in response to design ideas heard from the public during Engagement Window 1. The Adventure Loop diagram focuses on active recreation, nature immersion, and unique experiences. The Creekside Social diagram prioritizes flexible, welcoming social spaces that foster community connection and passively engaging with nature. The top 6 most voted-for features from community engagement are circled in each diagram.
Community Members also submitted comments about the design diagrams. The infographic below shows the top themes, ranked in descending order, that emerged from these comments.
Community members shared an equal enthusiasm for both diagrams—Creekside Social and Adventure Loop—and a blend of the most popular features from each diagram will inform the concept design. The overall most popular features are shown on the infographic below with the top 6 most popular highlighted in red.
The link to the full milestone report is coming soon in English and Spanish!
2023: Scoping, Project Management
2024: Planning Analysis, Engagement Windows 1 and 2
2025: Concept & Schematic Design, Space Activation and Governance Plan, Engagement Windows 3 and 4
2026: Design Development, Space Activation and Governance Plan, Construction Documentation
2027: Construction, Space Activation and Governance Plan, Park Opening
Between February and May of 2024, City of Boulder staff, in collaboration with Downtown Community Connectors, implemented 13 engagement events to gain feedback from the community. The engagement process was guided by the seven principles of the Civic Area Park Plan, the Sustainability, Equity and Resiliency Framework (SER), the Engagement Strategic Framework, and Equity-centered Engagement.
* Representation of historically excluded groups
The SER Framework was used to ensure diverse representation and co-creation in the design and activation of the Civic Area. This equity-centered engagement process was the product of close collaboration between City of Boulder staff, Downtown Community Connectors, and design consultants, guided by the Equity Plan and Instrument.
Data from this window will be analyzed for the successful outreach and inclusion of historically excluded groups. Lessons taken from Window 1 will be incorporated into Window 2 and will provide further opportunities for community groups to give input, creating a more inclusive and equitable engagement process. In Window 2, we will share with the community what we heard and ask for confirmation of these findings and additional input. These two windows will capture a wide range of feedback from across the community before the design process begins. (Design is starting in spring, 2025. See Diagram 6: Project Schedule below.)
The Boulder community ranked the Civic Area project's seven guiding principles in this order: Place for Community Activities & Arts, Outdoor Culture & Nature, Civic Heart of Boulder, Life and Property Safety, Sustainable & Viable Future, Enhanced Access & Connections, Celebration of History & Assets. Historically excluded groups had the same ranking order, but ranked the Civic Heart of Boulder principle third, instead of fourth.
As part of the research process for the proposed Civic Area Historic District, the Parks and Recreation Department conducted a Cultural Landscape Assessment (CLA) to evaluate park land as part of the proposed historic district. The CLA is focused on Central Park (including the currently designated bandshell) to ensure there is a solid base of knowledge regarding the historic significance and integrity of the parkland. The CLA and the Proposed Civic Area Historic District were presented to and discussed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) on Jan. 22, 2024.
PRAB Presentation and Discussion:
Boulder has routinely been named one of the top places in America to call home, and in keeping with this charge, Phase 2 of the Civic Area Project is critical to maintaining this way of life. We have the opportunity at the heart of downtown to rethink urban park design to ensure a strong connection to nature, promote the robust local economy, support the dynamic art scene, and continue to cultivate Boulder’s thriving culture.
The project vision encompasses the makings of a beautiful recreational river park at the core, with incredible views of the celebrated Flatirons. This area is flanked by bookends that can entertain civic and commercial development that are alive with activity, collaboration, and innovation.
This will be a space for everyone - a lively and distinct destination that reflects the principles laid on in the 2015 Civic Area plan. A place where people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and incomes feel welcome to recreate, socialize, relax, and enjoy the ambiance of a high-altitude urban center at the feet of the Rocky Mountains. The green ribbon along Boulder Creek is the unifying design that will weave metropolitan and park space into a richly diverse, sustainable, equitable, resilient, communal, recreational, artistic, historic, cultural, educational, and social gathering space that reflects Boulder’s identity as a funky, fun and friendly place to live.
This project will also focus on how this vital downtown area can connect to the university on the ‘hill’. The Civic Area will also potentially see city-owned buildings become available as city staff move to a new location. This allows us to reimagine the reuse of these assets to create centers where community members can meet, interact, and innovate. All together, these elements create a true civic heart for the Boulder community, a place to tell, enjoy, and participate in Boulder’s story.
The planning process for Boulder’s Downtown Civic Area kicked off in 2012 with the initial Plan for Boulder’s Civic Area, adopted by Council in September 2013. This document provided a high-level vision with design principles for Civic Park, Central Park, 13th Street, East Bookend, West Bookend, Pearl Street, the Arboretum Path, and major pedestrian connections between these spaces. In 2015, City Council approved Boulder’s Civic Area Plan, refining the initial thinking with an updated concept and program plan. Throughout these two key efforts, a robust public engagement, stakeholder, and steering committee process was incorporated into the overall project timeline to ensure the proposed Civic Area enhancements reflected the values and goals of the community.
The 2015 Civic Area Plan PDF and resulting redevelopment efforts seek to breathe new life into some of Boulder’s most beloved, historic, and iconic public spaces. With parts of Phase 1 (as outlined in the 2015 plan) completed in 2018, Phase 2 of this project will review Civic Park, Central Park, the Arboretum Path, 13th Street, and the West and East Bookends. They will also review multiple city-owned buildings as key components to understand future land use, development opportunities, and which park spaces will move forward for the next phase of implementation. The outcome of the project is to lay out a dynamic, connected, and vibrant collection of community spaces enjoyed by residents and visitors in the Civic Area, guided by the seven main principles from the Civic Area Plan PDF:
Main design priorities:
City staff are partnering with a community connector for this project to have conversations with a diverse set of neighbors that represent communities with disabilities, multi-generational groups, and neighbors passionate about bringing equity to Boulder.
Claudia Sanchez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and has lived in Boulder for 25 years, including 20 years in downtown Boulder. Claudia works as a systemic change organizer for the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition. She has always tried to be an inspiration of strength to the community by helping and sharing her leadership skills in collaborative ways. She enjoys spending time with her family and celebrating all that can be celebrated. All three of her children have attended Boulder High School, which is her alma mater.
Adriana Paola Palacios Luna
I am founder of Luna Cultura and a Mexican Mestiza woman from Cuetlaxcoapan, currently known as Puebla, Mexico. I have worked for more than 28 years on socio-environmental justice and social change projects. My participatory research approach is Communication for Social Change, Sociology of Culture, Gender Equity, women and gender studies, Human Rights, Art, Culture, and Identity. Culture and Alternatives Building. Participatory planning for social change.
As an artist, I am a poet, short story writer, storyteller, textile artist, and explorer in the Maker movement.
Honored by the Boulder Chamber in 2022, as a “Woman Who Lights the Community“.
Feature by the City of Boulder at Celebrating the Boulder Women Who Tell Our Stories
