The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board heard a planning-analysis briefing on Civic Area Phase 2 from senior landscape architect Shihomi Kuryagawa and planning senior manager Mark Davidson, who said the project has an $18,000,000 allocation and will advance design, community engagement and a limited first construction phase.

The phase 2 funding is “for both” planning and construction of a smaller portion of the overall civic-area concept, Kuryagawa said. She told the board the project team has completed two rounds of community engagement and expects a third, mid‑summer engagement window centered on pop‑ups and prototype activations that will run from June into September.

Why it matters: the Civic Area sits between the Pearl Street Mall and the University of Colorado and will be a focus of downtown activity when the Sundance Film Festival stages events in Boulder in 2027. Staff said that timing increases the urgency of phasing, but that the full park project and major construction remain on the city’s multi‑year schedule.

What staff presented

- Budget and scope: Allie Rhodes, the city’s director of parks and recreation, and the design team identified that the $18,000,000, funded primarily from the community culture, resiliency and safety tax (CCRS), will cover planning and design work and a limited portion of construction; larger build‑out would require additional funding or partnerships.

- Technical constraints: the team’s site analysis shows most of the park area lies in floodplain or high‑hazard flood zones. Kuryagawa emphasized that “bench‑type” amenities can be placed in high‑hazard zones but occupiable buildings cannot, and that any changes that would shift the hazard boundary would require a federal Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) process that can take nine months to a year.

- East Bookend and parking: the East Bookend — the urban parcel east of the park near the library — was presented as the primary developable area. Staff described four development themes from a market/economic analysis (community residential, food and beverage, health and recreation, and arts/culture) and reiterated that no formal parking decisions have been made. Rhodes told the board that accessible parking will be retained and that staff will try to avoid a net loss of parking citywide, but added the details will be resolved during design and in coordination with the library and other stakeholders.

- Emerging design priorities and engagement: Rios, the contracted design team, has developed schemes that community respondents rated most highly for features including an expanded farmers market, upgrades to the Bandshell, a beer garden or food‑service areas, a “Boulder Beach” creek connection and a food‑truck plaza. The team reported about 1,500 comment responses across windows 1 and 2, a 100‑person workshop and multiple pop‑ups and CU and library outreach efforts. Staff said summer engagement will include temporary nature‑play installations and large‑scale graphics or models to visualize alternatives.

- Novel features and feasibility work: the design team is investigating feasibility for recreation features raised by the public, including a managed zip line; staff said feasibility studies are underway and that any such feature would be operated and managed if approved.

- Governance and operations: staff are studying governance models used elsewhere — for example conservancy or nonprofit partners — that could help fund and coordinate ongoing activation, programming and maintenance. Rhodes said such a model usually supplements but does not replace city capital funding and often focuses on programming and activation rather than core capital costs.

Board questions and staff responses

Board members pressed about floodplain safety, timing for deconstruction of some municipal buildings in the project area, and how a future parking strategy would affect library access. Kuryagawa and Davidson said structural and permitting work is underway and that the city will not begin demolition of certain buildings until staff have moved to the Western City Campus; staff said that detailed deconstruction schedules and cost estimates are part of later engineering work.

Board members also asked how the Sundance 2027 presence might affect schedule. Kuryagawa said the project team will look for micro‑investments and interim improvements to strengthen key connections but that the full park construction schedule remains on the multi‑year path that targets major construction activity in 2027.

What comes next

Staff said they will take board feedback into the April 17 council briefing and will run a concept/design engagement program this summer (June–September) with schematic design expected at the end of 2025 and technical/construction documents in 2026 ahead of construction phases beginning in 2027. Staff said any additional capital beyond the $18,000,000 allocation will require separate funding decisions and possible public‑private partnerships.

Ending

The board did not take action on Civic Area policy or funding at the meeting; staff asked the board for questions and said public engagement details and concept alternatives will return to the board and to city council as the project advances.