Nearly a year after the fence around Whitman Park was erected, the future of the historic downtown area as a multifunctional recreation and event area is coming into focus.
On Monday, the City Council received an updated presentation on the initial design for Whitman Park. The space is expected to have something for everyone – from a dog playground to a sports field to an event stage and a food truck area.
Ken Sherbenou, director of Grand Junction’s Parks and Recreation Area, told The Daily Sentinel on Wednesday that the proposed plan for Whitman is something that has not been seen before in any of the city’s 35 existing parks.
“It’s really a new type of park that we don’t currently have in the system,” Sherbenou said. “It would be our first true urban park, offering a high concentration of amenities in a relatively small area. That’s typical of urban parks.”
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES
The design divides the park into little nooks and crannies that offer different experiences depending on your needs. There will be a bouldering area for climbing and a sculptural play area for children. There will be a multi-purpose sports court that can be converted to play basketball or pickleball. A synthetic ice rink is planned here in the winter.
“In our planning discussions, we heard from the (Downtown Development Authority) that they would be interested in moving the (Christmas) tree lighting to Whitman Park,” Sherbenou said. “I can just imagine having food vendors in the food truck area with hot chocolate and people skating on synthetic ice and beautiful Christmas lights around the park.”
All of this is designed to help bring more people to the park, which has so far been used primarily by the homeless. When the proportion of homeless people in a park is high, other community members are less likely to use it, according to Sherbenou.
“The intention behind this is to serve a broad spectrum of user groups throughout the day from park opening to park closing, which really brings us closer to our main goal – activation,” said Sherbenou.
Last September, the city abruptly closed Whitman Park to day use and made it a reservations-only venue during the design process. Sherbenou said the public’s reaction afterward was decidedly negative.
The city has been considering how to renovate or redevelop Whitman Park for years. In its Parks, Recreation, Open Space (PROS) master plan, which it is developing starting in 2020, it is gathering public feedback on Whitman and other older parks downtown. Sherbenou said this feedback shows a desire to reactivate and redevelop Whitman Park.
“Compare that to the decision to use the park only for a special event that took place in September 2023 – many of the requirements have changed,” Sherbenou said. “In the first few months, the concerns were more about this change and the negative impact on the homeless population.”
These homeless people were used to gathering at Whitman Park, which also had weekly food services provided by local groups. Sherbenou said the immediate impact of Whitman’s closure has caused some problems for this community.
“After Whitman went from only offering special events to just having them, there was definitely a few months of chaos there until the resource center came along,” Sherbenou said. “It allowed the housing department to really understand who was doing these food distribution events and they could help organize (the food distribution).”
RESOURCE CENTER
HomewardBound of the Grand Valley, in partnership with United Way of Mesa County and the city, has begun offering services at the Homeless Outreach Center in a solid-walled pavilion a few blocks from Whitman. It is a low-barrier facility that allows members of the homeless community to access services and things like restrooms.
Sherbenou said the resource center helped ease some people’s concerns about the homeless community that had used Whitman Park.
“It’s been pretty fascinating for me to watch the evolution of thinking,” Sherbenou said. “In the first few months after September 2023, we heard a lot of negative reactions. I think when we started considering this potential renovation at Whitman Park, the tone of public opinion changed a lot and shifted pretty strongly toward the opportunity presented by this mature green space right next to downtown.”
The homeless population will likely always be present in Whitman Park and other parks, Sherbenou said.
“There will always be homeless people in the parks, and that’s good, that’s OK, that’s what they’re there for,” Sherbenou said. “(The parks) are there for everyone.”
However, Whitman’s location in close proximity to downtown makes it an attractive green space for a broader downtown user group, he said.
“I’m really proud that the city, under the leadership of the Housing Department, working under the leadership of the City Council, has really dramatically improved the provision of homeless services,” Sherbenou said. “I think this gives us an opportunity to seriously consider using Whitman as the green space that we’re missing and that would make downtown even more beautiful.”
The Whitman Park redevelopment is not yet complete and the City Council has raised concerns about the cost and scope of the project, which will likely be completed in two or more phases. The projected cost for the entire project is about $5 million.
The city has already made significant investments in nearby parks, such as building a skate park in Emerson Park, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Sherbenou said the completion of Emerson will give the community a glimpse of the opportunities that investing in these historic parks can provide.
“In a short period of time, the community will be able to see what it means to invest in a beautiful downtown park with this amazing canopy and give it a new life from a use perspective,” Sherbenou said.
