by Laura Lieff

The spectacular $80 million Master Development Plan is right on schedule. Denver Botanic Gardens officials met with neighborhood groups in April and May, to discuss Phase II of the Master Plan to revamp the Gardens. The most controversial topics of discussion have become the three-level parking structure that will reside between York and Josephine and the proposed pedestrian bridge that will connect the structure to the Gardens. It is the intention of Denver Botanic Gardens CEO Brian Vogt to make the Botanic Gardens one of the most, if not the most ecologically friendly parks in the country.

“Within the next year and a half, we will have built $43-45 million worth of improvements in the Gardens,” estimated Vogt. “We are hoping that in the next five to six years the whole Master Plan will be finished, but of course everything depends on fundraising.”

Phase I of the Master Plan is trenching and irrigation which Vogt says he hopes to get started by late July or early August. Vogt says that by updating the Botanic Gardens’ irrigation system in the most discreet way possible, they will save a lot of water and cause minimal inconvenience to patrons. Also part of Phase I is the greenhouse complex which should break ground by the end of the year. Phase II of the Plan includes the parking structure and pedestrian bridge.

“We are probably two weeks away from a final drawing of the parking structure,”  said Vogt. “We have had a lot of public input and we’re really hoping that we break ground in October and are finished by March. We plan on the parking structure having very low profile impact while getting the cars off of the streets and we’re working hard to accomplish that as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”

While the parking garage design is in its final stages, Vogt says they are being very thoughtful about the pedestrian bridge in order to balance what they can afford along with height issues and people getting on and off the bridge.

Phase II also consists of the new Children’s Garden into which the parking structure will transition, along with a new greenhouse and gate that leads into Cheesman Park. Vogt hopes to break ground on the greenhouse before the end of the year and have it completed by Fall 2009 and would like the Cheesman Park access gate finished by summer or fall 2009.

Development Plan Costs

Although the bridge is estimated to cost $1 million to build, it is a small number compared to cost of the parking structure ($12-13 million) and the rest of the proposed additions. The total cost of the entire Master Development Plan is estimated at $80 million that includes the parking structure, the bridge, a Visitors Center ($2.5 million) and the Children’s Garden ($3 million). Vogt explained that the Botanic Gardens must raise $45.5 through the Capital Campaign that began in 2007, and has already generated $8 million. An additional $15 million in Certificates of Participation (COPS) will be provided by the City of Denver that Vogt describes as “a loan guaranteed by the City of Denver.” Lastly, Botanic Gardens will use approximately $18.6 million in bond funds approved by voters to build a new, publicly accessible greenhouse complex. It will include the construction of a new irrigation system, improvements to handicap accessibility and the addition of other safety features such as lighting on the west side of the Botanic Gardens and a public address system.

History

The Denver Botanic Gardens began as the dream of local gardeners, botanists and civic leaders who wanted to build an oasis in the middle of the city. It became a reality in 1952, when members of the Colorado Forestry and Horticulture Association incorporated as the non-profit Denver Botanical Gardens Foundation of Denver and hired legendary landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer to create a 15-year master plan. The charter for the Botanic Gardens was filed on February 3, 1951, making the Gardens an agency of the City of Denver. The Botanic Gardens links two of Denver’s parks —Cheesman Park and Congress Park.

In 1858, General William Larimer staked out Denver’s first cemetery on the site of the present Cheesman and Congress Parks. The present day Cheesman Park was the Protestant portion of the cemetery while Congress Park was the Roman Catholic cemetery, as well as 20 acres utilized by the Hebrew Burial Society.

Eventually a portion was leased “forever” to the Denver Water Company for use as a reservoir site, which it remains today now operated by the City and County of Denver’s Water Department but overlaid with soccer fields. By 1890, the cemeteries were falling into disuse and real estate developers determined a park would add more property value than unused cemeteries. Senator Teller persuaded the United States Congress to allow the cemeteries to be converted to a park. In recognition, Denver named the whole area Congress Park. In 1907, the city made a deal with the widow of the highly unpopular former water baron of Denver, Walter S. Cheesman, to rename the eastern 81 acres Cheesman Park in exchange for her contributing the funds for a neoclassical pavilion inspired by the Acropolis in Athens.

How It All Fits Together

Denver Botanic Gardens’ adjacency to two of Denver’s renowned urban parks —  Cheesman Park at the western border and Congress Park to the east — offers the opportunity to connect these public spaces physically, visually and aesthetically. Vogt says that there is a desire to make sure that access points are really user-friendly between all three locations.

“We want to make sure that what we do is complementary to a bigger concept,” added Vogt. “We also want to make sure that we are in sync with the City of Denver’s interests because the Gardens are without a doubt integrated with the two parks.”

The Master Development Plan proposes to restore and revitalize the historic west access to the Gardens from Cheesman Park through a new entry gate aligning with the Cheesman Memorial Pavilion and the primary east-west promenade through the Gardens. Construction of a new entry gate will re-establish a critical physical connection between the Botanic Gardens and Cheesman Park.

“In Phase II we are looking at Cheesman access points which is important to us because we have members that live on the west side of the Gardens and the entrance gate is currently unusable,” pointed out Vogt. “Our plan is to utilize technology and provide a non-staff access to the Gardens from that gate by using a membership card. Right now if you are on the west side you have to walk all the way around to the front entrance and we’d like to correct that.”

On the southeast side of the Botanic Gardens, Congress Park adjoins the Denver Water property to the north. Botanic Gardens, the Community Gardens and Denver Water are jointly exploring the opportunity to relocate the Community Gardens to the site of the new recycled water storage tank. Vogt mentioned that moving the Community Gardens would not affect the existing soccer fields.

The Bridge Controversy

Thirty residents attended the first neighborhood meeting in late April and 30 more attended the second meeting in late May. The main topics of conversation at the April meeting were the parking structure and pedestrian bridge, both of which received mixed reviews.

“The Neighborhood Association of the East Cheesman Neighbors hasn’t always had the best relationship with the Botanic Gardens because they don’t always consult us before doing things,” said Caroline Schomp, who is a member of the Neighborhood Association of the East Cheesman Neighbors. “We’re glad they consulted us about the parking structure but we are a bit worried about it because we don’t want to increase traffic more than necessary.”

Schomp continued by saying that everyone in the Cheesman neighborhood is concerned about the parking structure and the bridge blending in with the rest of the area.

“I think people who live in this neighborhood recognize that something needed to be done about the parking situation at the Botanic Gardens but we want it to be as unobtrusive as possible,” she explained. “We want to make sure that the parking structure will be well-designed and low profile and we want all possible options to be looked at in regard to the bridge. I think it would be better if we didn’t have a bridge and I think a lot of folks would agree with me.”

On the other hand, Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee of the Botanic Gardens Roger Armstrong had nothing but positive things to say.

“I think the restructure of a parking facility will benefit the neighborhood because when they have large events they will be less impactful on the neighborhood,” Armstrong noted. “They have initially proposed some appealing elements such as the green roof of the parking structure as well as safety features which primarily would ad-dress access to the underground parking structure during off-hours.”

Optimistic CEO

The new parking structure will cost $12-13 million to build and will consist of two underground stories (under the existing parking lot located between York and Josephine) and a flexible living plaza (or “living roof”) on the top. Vogt said it would be a mixture of hardscape such as stone and living roof elements such as trees, flowers and grass. It will serve as a public plaza most of the time or as more parking when needed for events at the Botanic Gardens. Vogt explained that the purpose of the living roof is for aesthetic reasons and because it will be more sustainable. The vegetation will help with water run-off, will create retention ponds and is much more eco-friendly.

“Living roofs are all the rage now,” noted Vogt. “They show people plants that are appropriate for our dry Colorado climate and they reduce the heat island effect by allowing plans to absorb heat and cool everything else down.”

Timely Construction

A main concern of citizens attending the neighborhood meeting was that people actually use the bridge. Architect David Owen Tryba and contractor Bill Phipps are slated to break ground for the parking structure and bridge in October 2008, which means both should be finished by the end of March 2009. Further alterations are still being made to the parking structure and bridge designs and the next meeting date has been scheduled for later this month.

“We’re making great progress,” noted Vogt, who has been the CEO for 14 months. “This is the most significant enhancement of the Botanic Gardens in our 49 year history and it’s just the beginning. There is so much more to come!” Vogt can be reached at 720-865-3515 or at vogtb@botanicgar dens.org. For more information about the BOTANIC GARDENS visit the Web site at www.botanicgardens.org.