Englewood parks bond projects advance while stormwater, easements complicate Pirates Cove and Bellevue work

The Englewood Parks & Recreation Commission on Jan. 14 received updates on multiple bond-funded park projects and was told that stormwater mitigation requirements and legacy easement issues are complicating construction schedules for Pirates Cove and Bellevue Park.

Gina, a parks project manager, said Cushing Park reopened Dec. 20 with a new playground and a new dog park and invited the commission to a ribbon-cutting next Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 4 p.m. "The park has a new playground with a lot of really nice equipment for a variety of ages," she said, and staff asked residents to bring dogs to the dog-park ribbon-cutting.

On larger projects, Gina presented schematic designs for Bellevue Park’s farm area, describing a plan that keeps the existing barn for staff use while adding a new administrative building with a ticket window, restrooms and a rentable pavilion. "There will be a new barn back here for the animals with the animal pens being kind of back along the path," she said, and staff noted the project will require substantial grading and new accessible paths connecting to the train and ticketing areas.

Staff reported several interrelated constraints. Director Christina Underhill said stormwater detention design has emerged as a key challenge that could affect scope. On the recreation center, staff removed planned pickleball courts from the current scope after learning that disturbing more than 10,000 square feet would trigger stormwater mitigation requirements. Underhill said the mitigation could be costly: staff estimated it would require "probably a half $1,000,000 or more" in detention work, likely underground, and concluded that dropping the courts preserved interior building commitments to the public.

Underhill also said the slide tower planned for Pirates Cove currently overlaps Bellevue Park’s parcel, a legacy record issue that prevents constructing an element for one parcel on another. "That's why we're doing a cleanup now to ensure that it might be, like, a maintenance right away or something," she said, explaining city attorneys and development staff are working through easements and parcel records so projects can proceed.

Staff remained cautiously optimistic about schedules: Gina said Pirates Cove could begin construction in August with a target reopening on Memorial Day 2027 if stormwater and easement matters are resolved. Other bond projects are moving: Northwest Greenbelt reached 70% construction documents and will add native plants, a basketball court and restrooms, and the recreation center is on track to receive final construction documents in February.

The commission discussed material choices at Bellevue Park, including whether paving around the barn would be concrete, pavers or permeable material; staff said final decisions have not been made. Commissioners also raised accessibility and storage needs for the existing barn, noting that the barn sits in a FEMA floodplain and is being retained for staff/storage until its condition requires removal.

Next steps for the major projects include continued coordination with the utilities/stormwater division on detention design, attorney review and record updates for easements, permitting and bidding once final construction documents are complete. The commission did not take formal votes on these projects at the meeting.

The commission is scheduled to continue oversight and public outreach as documents and permitting progress, with staff reporting to return with updates as designs and easement clearances evolve.