AURORA —More than 30 years after its last face-lift, Montview Park in northwest Aurora is getting a full renovation to include community gardens, a new basketball court, an amphitheater and a skate area.
The park improvements won’t begin until the end of next summer, however, because Aurora Water is about to start construction on a yearlong realignment of Westerly Creek, which flows through the 9-acre park. The project will force the creek to bend around the new amenities, creating a more sinuous, interactive flow through the park.
“The park renovation is really being kicked off with the realignment of Westerly Creek,” said Vern Adam, senior project manager at Aurora Water. “Currently, the creek is a straight shot through the park, but we’re going to add some curved elements and informal crossings,” to integrate the creek with the rest of the park, he said.
Montview Park is bordered by Montview Boulevard to the north and East 17th Avenue on the south side, roughly between Chester and Beeler streets. Across Montview Boulevard are Westerly Park and the regional Westerly Creek Trail.
Both the existing Westerly Creek park and trail will be connected to Montview Park during the Aurora Water project through the extension of the trail and the creation of a pedestrian bridge.
“It will be a great benefit to park users,” Adam said. “There will be a grade separation of Westerly Creek and Montview Boulevard, and the regional bike path will cross Montview below grade and will tie into Westerly Creek Park, providing a below-grade connection between the two.”
The Lower Westerly Creek Channel project will also manage flood risks for the houses that are upstream now. Work on the $5 million project — jointly funded through Aurora Water enterprise funds, the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — should be complete by the end of the summer in 2015.
During that time, Adam said there will be areas of Montview Park that are closed, but only in phases so that residents can still use some amenities. About 2,700 feet of the channel will be realigned through the park.
Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space hopes to begin some park improvements during the creek realignment, but the bulk of the work will be done next fall, completed around summer 2016.
The Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Committee gave the final approval on the working Montview Park master plan Sept. 3. Improvements include picnic areas, a new playground and rebuilding of the sport courts. There will be a new basketball court and a half-court with a hard backboard that will allow users to practice tennis or soccer alone.
“The intent was to provide as many opportunities for as much court play as possible,” said Chris Ricciardiello, principal landscape architect for Aurora. “So, there’s a (permanent) backboard with a big open grass field next to it.”
The renovations will cost about $900,000. Almost all of the money will come from grants and the parks and recreation budget.
Ricciardiello said the city also plans to partner with Denver Urban Gardens to design a 30-plot community garden in the northwest portion of the park, built by kids from the Mile High Youth Corps.
“This is going to be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood,” said Ward 1 Councilwoman Sally Mounier. “I predict this is going to be the place to live in 10 years.”
