Three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin is part of a team that’s been recommended to redesign Denver’s City Park Golf Course as part of a stormwater detention project the city is planning, officials announced on Thursday.
The City and County of Denver staff recommended the following people/businesses to lead the $40 million course redesign and construction project, which is expected to keep the course closed from late this year until sometime in 2019:
— Irwin — who grew up in Colorado, graduated from the University of Colorado and has designed several courses in the state — to work as a golf design advisor with course architect/designer iConGolf Studio.
— Saunders Construction with the Aspen Corporation.
— Clubhouse architect Johnson Nathan Strohe.
The recommendations must be approved by the Denver City Council, and the entire project assumes that no litigation will derail the plans.
The impetus for the changes to the 105-year-old course is to integrate stormwater detention areas into the course to “help protect some of the city’s most at-risk neighborhoods from flooding” — specifically those north and northwest of the site, according to the City and County of Denver website.
“The identification of a recommended City Park Golf Course Redesign team is a significant milestone in this important project,” Happy Haynes, executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation, said in Thursday’s announcement. “The proposal developed by the Saunders design/build team will allow the city to deliver a project that reduces flood risks in nearby neighborhoods, while ensuring City Park Golf Course continues to be one of Denver’s crown jewels for years to come.”
As part of the redesign process, city officials said the recommended team’s initial proposal will be “refined with input from the public in the coming months.”
The city said the project currently includes:
— An 18-hole Parkland-style course with a par of 71.
— Additional course yardage on top of the current length of 6,708 yards.
— A new relocated clubhouse that allows for the ninth and 18th holes returning to the clubhouse, as well as more efficient golf operations, west-facing patios and enhanced views, while preserving scenic views for the surrounding community.
— A full driving range that accommodates all clubs and meets safety needs without netting.
— Centralized facilities for the First Tee youth golf program with opportunity for independently-funded First Tee program enhancements.
Included above is a view of the conceptual routing plan for the course, looking east. City officials said the plan “will be shared with the community and may be refined based on input.”
Among the courses in Colorado Irwin has designed or helped design are the new Mountain Course at the Glacier Club near Durango, Highlands Ranch GC, Indian Peaks in Lafayette, and the Mountain Course at Cordillera in Edwards.
The Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (July 25) to consider the recommended team for a city council vote. City officials and the recommended team anticipate meeting with the public in late summer and early fall to refine the course design.
For an earlier story about the project, CLICK HERE.
