In late August 2010, Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann hosted a neighborhood ice cream social in conjunction with a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly completed Hampden Heights Park playground improvements. Representatives of Denver Parks and Recreation, the Mayor’s Office, and other offices participated in the ceremony. The Better Denver Bond program budgeted $230,000 for the expansion, new design and renovation of the park playground and adjacent landscaping. The effort transformed the old playground into a beautiful new play-space showcasing moon and star themes inspired by a half-moon image in the playground’s original design.
The playground was redesigned to create spaces for children of all ages and abilities, to provide informal play areas, and to install play structures that develop a child’s imagination, and their physical and social skills. The project team sought ideas and input from neighborhood residents.
Large areas of sod were removed and then replaced with expanded playground areas and new gathering spaces. A plaza was added and new picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and bike racks were incorporated. The playground now includes two play pits, one for intermediate age children, and one for young “tots,” replacing what was a single area for multiple ages. The intermediate play pit features a large climbing structure, spinners,
belt swings and a “Moon” climbing boulder. The tot play pit includes a tot structure, swings, a spinning bowl, sand area, and a rubberized surface with craters and small climbable mounds that mimic the moon’s surface. Each of the two play pits includes ADA accessible surfacing and ramps.
Additional trees and shrub beds were planted to provide shade and for aesthetic value, and new sod was laid. The irrigation system was adjusted and
modified to improve its efficiency.
Project Team:
Parks & Recreation: Nicole Hadley, PM (Parks and Valerian, LLC), Mark Tabor and others
Contractor: Goodland Construction John Beltz (PM)
Designer: Design Concepts Amanda