Wheat Ridge Receives Starburst Award

By Brandon Altenburg and Danielle Moore

Wheat Ridge’s Prospect Park received the statewide Starburst Award from the Colorado Lottery for renovations done between 2017 and 2022.

The awarded renovations were done in two phases, totaling over $1.2 million dollars, which was funded by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF). The park now hosts two ballfields, six pickleball courts, a football field, two playgrounds, two fishing piers, a 150-person pavilion, restrooms, permanent cornhole boards, horseshoe pits, and improved roads and walkways throughout the park.

Phase 3 of the project is tentatively planned for 2026-2027 and will focus on the northeastern portion of the park with a new picnic pavilion, renovation of the Berbert House, new restrooms, renovated or new park storage, and one or two new playground-type areas.

Prospect Park is a regional, diverse-use park on W. 44th Ave in Wheat Ridge between Kipling and Youngfield streets. The park is adjacent to the 300-acre Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, connects to the Peaks to Plains Trail (a National Recreation Trail, also known as the Clear

Creek Trail, and one of the Colorado the Beautiful initiative’s priority trail systems).

Prospect Park now has an excellent balance of natural environment and developed park amenities, a rarity in for land-locked areas within the Denver metro. This renovation project is an excellent example of improving what Wheat Ridge already has and adjusting the space for the needs of future generations. The renovations provide more opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to be able to enjoy the park year-round.

The economic impacts from this project are significant for the local economy. Nearly 45,000 residents and visitors enjoy Prospect Park annually. On weekends and weekday evenings in the springsummer, the athletic fields are heavily utilized by youth sports groups. Picnic groups and small special events utilize the large pavilion and parking area. The pickleball courts, despite only being open since mid-October 2022, have seen heavy consistent use whenever there is not snow coverage or freezing temperatures. Peaks to Plains Trail users park at Prospect Park for commuting and recreation activities. All of these users provide customers and foot traffic to local businesses throughout the 44th Ave, Youngfield, and Kipling business corridors.

Additionally, the social impacts from this project are consistent with the significant research completed on the benefits of experiencing the natural world, exercising, participating in group social and/or sport activities, and having spaces to enjoy that are separate from one’s home and workspaces. Prospect Park has an incredibly diverse number of amenities within its boundaries and via its connection to the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt and Peaks to Plains Trail.

The Colorado Lottery awarded 2023 Starburst Awards to eight projects enriching communities across Colorado. More than $4,042,283 in Lottery funds were represented in this year's winning projects, which include work on parks, campgrounds, open spaces, outdoor education, accessibility, and equity. See all of the 2023 Starburst Award winners and more information on the award here: https://bit.ly/43rmY7j.