39th Avenue Greenway

Client:

City and County of Denver

Location:

Denver, Colorado

Brief:

This $78 million design-build project adds vital drainage infrastructure to the Cole neighborhood, one of Denver’s most historic communities, while also providing a new 12-acre recreational greenway located along 39th Avenue between Franklin and Steele Streets. The historic Montclair basin in the largest drainage basin in Denver with no natural drainage, requiring floodwater to run through neighborhood streets. The completion of this project will provide safe stormwater conveyance, improve water quality in the neighborhood, while improving the connectivity of all modes to the surrounding transit stations and businesses. The new greenway provides over a mile-long multiuse path through the project, including nature play areas, plazas, as well as twelve acres of irrigated park space with new trees and lawn areas. The first shared street in Denver was designed as a part of this project, and FHU worked closely with Denver and the community to set the new standard for this multimodal experience.

Design enhancements include:

• Five natural paths for access across the channel
• Two pedestrian bridges over the Greenway
• 10,000 linear feet of new stormwater pipe
• 2.25 miles of multiuse trails, nearly 2.5 miles of sidewalks, and nearly 3 miles of improved roadways
• Two community gardens
• Three plaza areas

Innovative Project Firsts:

• Programmable decorative LED under-bridge lighting
• Progressive “Shared Street” design, accommodating all transportation modes
• Enhanced multiuse trail lighting
• Multiuse functional designs that create public space around technical structures