Ballot Issue 2B: Vibrant Denver bond, $175 million for outdoor spaces

The Vibrant Denver bond package would fund nearly $1 billion in capital infrastructure projects across Denver with long-term debt.

The proposal is split into five different categories on the ballot — transportation & mobility, parks & recreation, health and human services, city infrastructure & facilities, and housing & shelter.
Ballot Issue 2B would fund about $175 million of parks and recreation projects identified in the bond. Major projects include $70 million for Park Hill Park, a new recreation center in southeast Denver and various improvements across Denver parks.

Here’s the language you’ll see on your ballot:

Without imposing any new tax, shall City and County of Denver debt be increased $174,750,000, with a maximum repayment cost of $357,000,000, to be used for repairs and improvements to city parks and recreational infrastructure and facilities, including but not limited to:

Creation of a southeast recreation center and skate park and a new Emporia neighborhood park, and development and preservation of the Park Hill open space into one of Denver’s largest parks;
Equipment upgrades and improvements to city parks, playgrounds, and other open spaces, including Garland, Harvey, Hirshorn, Lindsley, Platt, and Sun Valley Riverfront parks and playgrounds, La Plazito de Montbello, the Southwest Auto Park tennis court, and a bike pump track in southwest denver;
Environmental health improvements to Sloans Lake; and
Improvements and upgrades to recreational facilities and pools, including Echo Lake Lodge, Montbello Recreation Center and Aztlan, Cook Park, Eisenhower, Southwest Outdoor, and Washington Park indoor pools;

By the issuance and payment, or refinancing, of general obligation bonds, notes, or other obligations; and shall the taxes authorized at the city’s bond elections in 2007, 2017 and 2021 be extended and authorized to pay or refinance the debt authorized at this election in addition to the debt authorized at such prior elections; and shall city ad valorem property taxes be increased without limitation as to rate but not more than a combined extended maximum amount of $41,257,045 annually, with the city to publicly report such expenditures annually?

How would it work?

The most tangible impact of Measure 2B would be the construction of two new parks.

Recently acquired land in Windsor could get a $2.8 million boost toward becoming a full park. And Park Hill Park could get $70 million to fund the first phase of construction on the old Park Hill Golf Course, which the city just bought.

Park Hill Park’s inclusion in the bond package has been controversial. Earlier, Denver voters blocked a developer’s plan to build housing and retail at the site of the former Park Hill Golf Course. That development would also have included the construction of a park.

Supporters of the failed development proposal the city is now paying tens of millions of dollars to build green space that could have come for free — in addition to a dense housing development. But supporters of the current plan say the city is getting a bigger park in one of its last open spaces.

Meanwhile, if 2B passes, Sun Valley’s long awaited Riverfront Park also could get $5 million for its second phase of construction.

Another $20 million would go toward acquiring land and opening a new recreation center and skate park in southeast Denver. The city hasn’t decided a location for either.

Other parks bond projects include improvements to numerous pools and playgrounds around the city, renovations for the city-managed Echo Lake Lodge in Idaho Springs and a bike pump track in southwest Denver.

The 2B package includes about $175 million million of debt for projects, which could accrue about $182 million in interest over several decades.

Vibrant Denver would be funded by the city’s existing property tax rates. Denver property owners pay 6.5 mills of taxes to pay down the city’s bonds. If some or all of Vibrant Denver is rejected, the city would instead use that money to repay its existing debt faster.

For more information on the bond package and how it works, check out our main explainer.

Ed. note: This guide was updated to note that Denver has completed its purchase of Park Hill Golf Course.