Denver council approves Cornavaca Park maintenance‑facility plan after heated debate over RISE bond allocations

Denver City Council approved a park building plan for a new maintenance, equipment and storage facility at Cornavaca Park on Jan. 12, 2026, after an extended public hearing and weeks of preparatory staff work.

Parks and Recreation Executive Director Joel Clark described the project as an approximately 11,000‑square‑foot operations and maintenance headquarters that exceeds the city’s 3,000‑square‑foot threshold for council review. Clark said the building will replace an off‑site Park Avenue facility the department must vacate and will serve as a headquarters for multiple maintenance districts, offering offices, training space and secured equipment storage.

“Because it is zoned OSA and the building footprint exceeds the threshold, this plan required public hearing and council approval,” Clark said during the staff presentation.

The hearing focused less on the technical design than on how the 2021 RISE general obligation bond was scoped and how the project’s budget relates to a paired satellite shop elsewhere in the city. Public commenter Scott Gilmore, who…