Denver has selected Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates to design Park Hill Park, a 155-acre public space whose future has been the subject of years of political disputes. Mayor Mike Johnston announced the choice Tuesday, Oct. 13. The firm’s portfolio includes Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City, Gathering Place in Tulsa and the landscape around Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center. Johnston said firms from around the world competed for the Denver project, including designers associated with Sydney’s Olympic grounds, the 9/11 Memorial in New York and the Washington Monument redesign. Johnston said MVVA stood out for its vision and neighborhood connections. Founder Michael Van Valkenburgh has committed 20% of his time to the work, a level of involvement the mayor described as unusual for a firm’s principal architect. “There have been few opportunities to change a piece of land with its complicated history into something as positive and loved by everyone as we hope it will be,” Van Valkenburgh said. City procurement documents describe potential features including athletic fields, sports courts, playgrounds, water features and outdoor adventure attractions. Van Valkenburgh has proposed a distinctly Colorado landscape designed to use less water, with test plots for native and drought-tolerant plants. The design is also expected to draw on ideas gathered from thousands of Denver residents, Johnston said. The project has a $100 million budget, but officials have not identified all of its funding. Voters approved $70 million for the park through the Vibrant Denver bond in 2025. That money is expected to cover MVVA’s design contract, the cost of which is still under negotiation. A contract is likely to go before the City Council in December, according to Johnston spokesperson Jon Ewing. Design work is expected to continue through 2027, with construction scheduled to begin in June 2028. The city has not yet decided whether the park will remain open during construction.