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Cobblestone Ranch Park
Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback for both the Cobblestone Park Master Plan and the Phase 1 Park plan. Plans for the neighborhood park components are in the works. The Town has allocated $4 million to develop a roughly 10-acre parcel as the first phase of the park.
After the Park Master Plan was approved by Town Council on December 17, 2019, the Parks Planning staff and Norris Design hosted an Open House to discuss and review Phase 1 design options on March 10. Residents were asked to provide feedback in person and via an online survey through Sunday, March 29. The options that were presented for the proposed design (PDF) are available for your review. The survey results (PDF) show that the community preferred design concept #2, which the design team is using as a starting place for developing construction and bid design documents.
Project Update
Cobblestone Ranch Park plan is moving forward, however, much of progress is “behind the scenes”. The landscape architect, Norris Design, along with their consultants have been busy working on the actual drawings and coordinating with the Town. Towards the later part of June, we held a PREAPP meeting between Norris Design, their consultants, and the appropriate representatives from the Town. This allows all parties to coordinate, ask specific questions and understand what is required by the Town prior to actual design starting. With this requirement being met, the design team has now begun design.
The Parks and Recreation Department will continue to coordinate with the design team over the next couple of months to ensure that the project continues to stay aligned with budget and with what was approved by Town Council, which reflects the feedback from the community via open houses and surveys. Once design is completed, the construction documents will then be submitted to Development Services for review. Comments will be made by Development Services and corrections will be needed by the design team and therefore a resubmittal will most likely be required.
Once the final set of construction documents is approved, the Parks and Recreation Department will put the project out to bid. After receiving and reviewing the bids, we will then get approval from the Parks and Recreation Commission and proceed to Council for their approval to sign the contract.
We are anticipating a construction start date of Fall of 2020.
Town plans for next neighborhood park
A park means so much more to a neighborhood than just providing playground equipment. It becomes a central gathering location and a place where memories are made within the community. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan establishes service levels for neighborhood parks. While metro districts and schools also provide neighborhood park access, the Town sets aside 8 acres for every 1,000 residents. This action helps ensure that residents will have close access to neighborhood parks once the Town is fully built-out.
Funding for new parks
Funding sources for the construction of new parks is different than the funding sources for the renovation and maintenance of existing parks. New neighborhood parks are funded through impact fees. Impact fees are imposed on new development projects to help fund the costs of providing public services, like parks, to those new developments. The Town receives $3,849 per 3,000-square-foot single family home to be applied to the construction of new parks and recreation facilities.
Developing a master plan
Based on community feedback, Town Council selected Cobblestone Ranch as the next park to be developed. The 168- acre site is generally bounded by Castle Oaks Drive to the south, Arabella Drive to the West, Cherry Creek Trail to the east, and McMurdo Gulch to the north.
The Town has contracted with Norris Design to help complete a master plan. An open house was held in August 2019 to start the master planning process. Opportunities and constraints were presented, as well as, information related to potential design elements.
Two concepts boards (PDF) were presented, as well as, image boards (PDF) to help attendees brainstorm and discuss potential ideas.
Resident feedback
Residents provided feedback at the open house and through an online survey. Approximately 120 people attended the open house and 136 respondents filled out the survey. This information was summarized and given to Norris Design. They have been using that data, along with the feedback from the open house, to develop a tentative master park plan.
At the second open house Norris Design presented the second phase of the proposed design. Norris Design encompassed both the in person feedback from that open house and online survey results from 107 respondents into the final design.
Final plan
The final master plan design (PDF) was presented to Town Council at the Dec. 17 Council meeting. At that meeting, Town Council approved a resolution approving a design contract amendment to include the first phase of Cobblestone Ranch regional park, including the owner-managed contingency.