Near the busy intersection of South Broadway and West Alameda Avenue in Denver’s Baker neighborhood, a dog park sits unused, its entrances padlocked.
Local pet owners can rejoice in knowing that its opening is soon to come — although the park may only last a few years.
Mystery has shrouded Broadway Bark — the official name of the dog park at 380 S. Cherokee St. — since construction began last winter, with workers regrading the site and installing an irrigation system, a fence and more.
Denverites have taken to Reddit in recent months to inquire about the dog park’s status and speculate over who owns it.
There’s some confusion about that detail. At AMLI Broadway Park and Cortland Alameda Station, two apartment buildings that neighbor the park, leasing team members said they were under the impression the city owned it. However, Denver Parks and Recreation spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa said it’s part of a private development.
The 1-acre dog park is owned by BMP Northwest LLC, but development company D4 Urban is responsible for the property, said Dan Cohen, CEO of D4 Urban. His team aims to open the park later this fall, with plans to install signage over the next month, he added.
“We have been waiting for the native grasses to fully establish before opening the park to the general public,” Cohen said in an email. “Once the gates are open, I think word will spread very fast.”
D4 Urban may host an opening event for its so-called “canine playground,” which features an agility ramp, tunnels and more equipment. Cohen said the timing will likely correspond with the Oct. 27 opening production of the “Monopoly Lifesized” experience at the nearby Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Off-Center at Broadway Park at 407 S. Broadway.
But the dog park won’t be a permanent fixture in the Baker neighborhood. It’s the site of future development, although what will take its place is uncertain. The commercial mixed-use zoning allows for different options, and construction will likely take place in the next four to seven years, Cohen said.
“Rather than leaving a vacant dirt lot in place for potentially several years, we decided (the dog park) could serve as a unique community amenity in the interim,” Cohen said.
Whatever happens, the space’s next iteration won’t include a dog park. But other parcels of land in the area are dedicated as open spaces, and one will potentially be set aside for dogs to roam, Cohen said.
The property, located near Safeway and Sam’s Club locations, was purchased in 2004. Previously, it was home to a Kmart store, which was demolished in 2017.
Since then, Cohen’s company has focused on adding infrastructure like streets and utilities to the area and selling land from the old Kmart site, which now houses apartment complexes.
Broadway Bark is meant to temporarily fill a local need for more dog parks.
Broadway Park North Metropolitan District No. 1 is leasing it and will take care of operations and maintenance, Cohen said. The district is “a quasigovernmental entity responsible for funding, constructing and maintaining public infrastructure improvements” for that part of Denver, Cohen said, which means new roads, utilities and infrastructure around the dog park fall within its control.
At Broadway Bark, “We look forward to seeing dogs catching Frisbees out there very soon,” Cohen said.
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Originally Published: August 22, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.
