Castle Pines board advances Phase 1 design for Coyote Ridge Park; weighs restrooms, field upgrades and pavilion options

Consultants for the Coyote Ridge Park project outlined the Phase 1 work and a public outreach plan at the Castle Pines Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting on March 20, 2025. The Phase 1 package currently in budget focuses on accessibility improvements, playground replacement and expansion, shelter upgrades near the playground and fencing at the basketball court to keep balls out of the drainage.

"So today we're here to talk about Coyote Ridge Park. We're excited that, we're moving forward with phase 1 improvements to the park," said Robin Bartley of HCM, who presented the design scope and a draft online survey the team plans to post for three weeks. Bartley said the survey will ask residents to describe the park in three words, select a playground style and choose the five most important playground elements to help shape initial schematic designs.

Board members generally praised the concise survey but asked the consultant to add more site-specific context. "It would be good to have some images of the existing playground," Bartley acknowledged, saying the team will include photos and links to the master plan so respondents can see what currently exists.

The board discussed adding scope if additional funding becomes available. The consultant outlined preliminary options and high-level cost estimates, with caveats that these figures require more study: replacing the existing vault restroom with a larger vault unit (about $700,000); installing a flush restroom (which would require sanitary extensions and a mini lift station) estimated at roughly $1.5 million; improving vehicle access along the multipurpose turf for events (about $345,000); building a larger multipurpose pavilion (about $700,000); and replacing an outfield restroom with a vault unit plus accessibility and parking improvements (about $360,000). An expansion to create a regulation-size ball field (working with Xcel Energy on adjacent property) was estimated at about $1.2 million and would require additional coordination and earthwork.

"There's a fair amount of due diligence still to do on that, but we're estimating that would be about 1,000,000 and a half dollars" for a flush restroom, Bartley cautioned, noting the sanitary connections present site challenges. Staff highlighted funding context: "We have about $4,000,000 that's gonna be in the ending fund balance for the parks fund this year," a staff member said, and suggested phasing major work (for example, installing a water line in one year and sanitary work in a subsequent year) to spread capital costs without exhausting reserves.

Several board members emphasized the practical need for improved restrooms and basic amenities. One committee member argued that addressing restroom and service problems should be a near-term priority, while others favored investing in a regulation-size ball field to enable rentals and generate revenue over time. The board coalesced around a direction to further explore the higher-cost Option 2 (flush restroom) and Options 6/7 (ball-field expansion and amenities) as multi-year efforts, while moving forward immediately to finalize the survey and proceed into schematic design for the funded Phase 1 items.

Next steps: the consultant will revise the survey per the board's feedback, launch it broadly through city channels and keep the board informed; after the three-week public comment period the team will consolidate responses and return with schematic designs and updated cost estimates before the board makes final funding decisions.