Here’s what they envision for Metropolitan Park

The latest version of Metropolitan Park is starting to come together.

A Denver urban design and landscape architecture firm proposed three designs based on 225 online surveys and suggestions from 67 people who attended a public meeting in April.

Civitas will now take many other suggestions made at an open house this week and boil them down to a final concept that will be presented to the city’s recreation department next fall.

Visitors were able to examine the three models during an open day on Tuesday and indicate which of the 24 details they liked the most.

Once those results are tallied, the most popular ones will be combined into a final design, said Scott Jordan, head of the project’s design team. This means that the three designs are not set in stone, but offer the opportunity to mix and match proposals.

“We are currently only in the alternative phase. We consider these design diagrams rather than actual physical designs,” Jordan said. “So what we hope to do with this community event is get feedback on each of the different ways that we’re thinking, see what resonates with the community, and then we’ll combine it all into a preferred concept.”

The 42-year-old park space was built in the 1980s on the downtown riverfront as a festival and concert venue, but is underutilized these days. It is primarily grass located on a waterfront lot adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel under construction on Gator Bowl Boulevard.

The Jazz Festival moved to the park in 1982 and remained there until 2008, when it moved to other downtown venues.

The festival returned to Metropolitan Park last month, and the park has recently hosted music festivals and other events, even after the stage was removed in 2016. But it has remained quiet most of the time.

A Metropolitan Park Revitalization Team has been formed to begin the overhaul, with $13 million set aside in the city’s capital improvement plan.

“We are not asking anyone… to choose this or that project. We’re showing different ways to configure the park to show the types of programs and goals we’ve heard from the community,” Jordan said. “These simply attempt to reflect different ways of approaching a park that balance an event space with an everyday park experience.”

About half of those surveyed in April want music or gastronomic events. Cultural events received 44% of survey responses. In total, 173 people were in favor of swings; 168 were looking for a water park; and 128 voted for a natural area. Gaming, outdoor fitness and sports areas were also prioritized, Jordan said.

“They still want to have events there – that was very clear. But hey, do you want to see this as an everyday park experience? And there was a lot of feedback about a green, gentler, more nature-based park experience,” he said. “I attribute that to it being a large piece of land with lots of trees and nature, and I think people want to make sure we maintain that.”

In the end, the Jordanian team retained three possibilities.

The Tailgate Plaza concept features a large grassy area that can be used for football or other sports, or a concert with a portable stage. There are slides going down the west side of the hill, as well as plenty of shade, a carousel and even a party barge. It also shows a valley running through this western hill, with a walkway leading to a shaded area, toilets and a water play area. See a video here.

The Weave Concept also has space for a sports field and concerts in a slightly smaller grassy area, as well as a hillside playground, water features, shaded pavilion, eco-walk and a fishing terrace. The grassy area could host concerts. Video here.

The Quilt Concept offers two smaller grassy areas with room for concerts and activities, as well as gardens, shaded areas, basketball and pickleball courts, and a riverside patio. A riverside stage is also offered, as well as water play areas. Video here.

All three designs include parking and either wide pedestrian crossings or a flyover to access EverBank Stadium and its parking areas. All of the projects would save trees in the park, some dating back to the 1980s.

The Tailgate proposal would remove four large trees during its redesign, along with 18 others to build a waterfront buffer to manage flooding. The Weave design has 18 large trees removed for its redesign, and 28 more to make room for the waterfront buffer. And nine large trees are being removed in the revamped Quilt proposal, plus 20 more for the waterfront buffer. But all three call for planting 100 to 200 new trees, Jordan said.

Once the preferred concept is developed, Jordan’s team could take 12 to 16 months to come up with detailed engineering and landscape design for review, he said. It would then be up to the city to approve it and then plan construction. No date has yet been set for this.