City parks staff outline Joel Gold Pocket Park design, $650,000 budget; commissioners raise size, slope and access concerns

Parks and Recreation planning manager Mark Pearson presented schematic designs Sept. 17 for the Joel Gold Boulder Junction Pocket Park, a roughly one-quarter-acre site near Goose Creek. The department described a $650,000 project budget, nature-play features, a small gathering plaza and efforts to bring more mature trees to the site.

Pearson said the department aims to restart the project in November 2025 with design-development and construction drawings in early 2026; permitting will follow and he estimated construction would take roughly six to nine months, with a conservative target for opening in the third quarter of 2027.

Why it matters: The pocket park will add publicly accessible green space in a high-density neighborhood near the Depot and the RTD station. Parks staff say the site responds to earlier public input calling for play and intergenerational gathering areas; the commission and staff also discussed potential district contributions to close a budget gap for implementation.

Design and program elements:

• Play and nature-play: The schematic prioritizes multi-sensory and…