Longmont’s Garden Acres Park was recently recognized with a Starburst Award from the Colorado Lottery for use of lottery funds in a major park renewal project. The award will formally be presented to the City by Daniel Bewley from the Colorado Lottery at the City Council’s meeting on July 27. Of the just over $5 million dollars spent on the project, $1,984,000 was funded with Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) dollars provided from the Colorado Lottery. The remaining budget was funded with the City’s Public Improvement Fund, which are general fund dollars generated by tax revenue, as well as the Park and Greenway Maintenance Fee Fund, which is a fund specifically earmarked for maintenance and capital improvements to the City’s existing park, recreation and trail system. With existing dollars stretched thin, Lottery dollars made this large project possible.

Garden Acres Community Park has been one of Longmont’s most highly utilized parks throughout its 30+ years. The park features a lighted softball four-plex, multi-use fields, batting cages, a cricket pitch, shelters, playgrounds, restrooms, and walking paths. Due to the consistent high level of use throughout the years, the park was in significant disrepair prior to the renewal project. Playgrounds had been vandalized and burned, railings were loose, falling over and missing, seating was broken and missing, concrete was cracking and heaving, retaining walls were damaged, restrooms were in disrepair, landscaping and irrigation was failing, and lighting was not working. Several playgrounds and amenities had to be decommissioned and removed due to safety issues. In 2014, the Garden Acres Community Park was identified as the highest priority park in need of renewal in the City as part of the new Parks, Recreation & Trails Master Plan.

The primary goal of the project was to re-establish a safe, usable, accessible, and enjoyable experience at Garden Acres Community Park. The design focused on creating ADA compliance for the entire four-plex, which required re-grading the concrete walks to all features of the sports complex including spectator seating, dugouts, the center pavilion, restrooms, and scorebooths. Two new playgrounds were also designed to be ADA compliant and feature a mix of rubber tile surfacing, poured in place rubber surfacing, engineered wood fiber, a sand play area, and universally accessible play components.

Enhanced safety was also achieved by opening up views throughout the park. Retaining walls were removed, un-needed chain link fencing was eliminated, and shelters were renovated to be open on all four sides. These open views, in addition to extensive lighting improvements, create visibility throughout the four-plex which is a primary principal of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design).

Additional goals that were achieved by the project included site improvements which now adhere to current City codes and standards as well as current building codes. These included installing a new ADA compliant restroom with increased capacity and a family restroom. Drainage issues were addressed by improving grading and changing roof structures to drain away from ballfields. The ballfields themselves were re-graded. Additionally, the overall maintenance needs at the park were reduced by simplifying landscaping, providing strategically located trash collection locations, and providing functional, durable infrastructure. A lockable vending machine vestibule is available for lower use times such as weeknight leagues, and an area for food trucks is available for high use tournaments.

In order to avoid closing the whole park for the entirety of the project, the City worked with its construction partners to complete the project in two phases. The renewal project focused on infrastructure replacement needs, safety, usability, and ADA (Americans with Disability Act) compliance. Phase 1 of the project replaced the raw water irrigation pump system for the park and was completed in 2018. Phase 2 of the project was a full renovation of the 4-plex sports complex which included a new restroom building, 2 new playgrounds, dugout, scorebooth, and shelter renovations, landscape and irrigation upgrades, new site furniture, a new trash enclosure structure, parking lot improvements, lighting improvements and concrete renovations. Phase 2 was completed in 2019.

With completion of this park renewal project, Garden Acres Community Park is once again a safe, inviting, fully functional park for ball players, visitors, dog walkers, and general park users to enjoy and take pride in.