Referred Measure 2O Landed in the Rough for Developers of the Park Hill Golf Course

After a four-year-long campaign to develop the defunct Park Hill Golf Course, Denver voters have voted down a proposal to lift the conservation easement on the property.

The returns from 10 p.m. April 4 show that Measure 2O, which sought to lift the easement and allow development, is losing: Out of the 102,398 votes counted so far, just 39.6 percent of voters have cast their ballots for the proposal, with 60.4 percent against.

Shortly after that count was released, opponents released a statement from Harry Doby, treasurer of the No on 2O initiative. "For the second time since November of 2021, the citizens of Denver have voted in decisive fashion on the future of the conservation easement," he said."We were outspent 9 to 1, but the voters were not fooled by the false narrative that the land had to remain a golf course. Now, we look forward to the future of this land in working with a new administration. The possibilities are endless."

Westside Investment Partners, the would-be developer of the property behind the pro-2O campaign, conceded at the same time, issued this statement:

"The Park Hill Golf Course will forever be a case study in missed opportunities. With historically low turnout, Denver has rejected its single best opportunity to build new affordable housing and create new public parks. Thousands of Denverites who urgently need more affordable housing are now at even greater risk of displacement. Because the Park Hill easement is unambiguous, the land will return to a privately-owned, regulation-length 18-hole golf course. The site will immediately be closed to public use or access, with no housing, community grocery store, or public parks allowed on this site, in accordance with the will of the voters. Westside Investment Partners and The Holleran Group are grateful to every partner, community organization, volunteer, and voter who campaigned for a brighter and more affordable Denver."

Westside, which paid $24 million for the 155-acre property four years ago, had poured $921,093 into the campaign for this measure, while the opposition had just $138,823 in funding.

The mixed-used development Westside had proposed for the property included affordable housing,100 acres of open space and land for a possible grocery store.

But Denver residents who want to keep the property as open space opposed the developers at every turn. Groups like Save Open Space Denver and Yes for Parks and Open Space, which counted at-large Denver City Council candidate Penfield Tate and former mayor Wellington Webb as supporters, rallied against Westside's proposal.

Opponents of development landed a measure on the November 2021 ballot to require a vote of Denver residents before a conservation easement could be lifted; the proposal was clearly aimed at the Park Hill Golf Course project. Voters approved the measure while rejecting a Westside-backed counterproposal that would have exempted the golf course from such a requirement. That set the stage for a vote on the conservation easement, which Denver City Council referred to the April 4 ballot.

In the leadup to the election, Westside and its partner in the development project, the Holleran Group, struggled with negative press associated with a lawsuit filed by the Sisters of Color United for Education, which had been leasing space in the golf course clubhouse before a falling-out.

With the loss of Measure 2O, Westside will have to pivot. As noted in its concession speech, the development firm could turn the land back into a functioning golf course, potentially even with a Topgolf facility. It could also try to craft a new deal with more community benefits and ask the voters for another chance. Or the company could give up and sell the property to the city, which could turn it into the park that residents have been calling for.

This story has been updated with the numbers available at 10 p.m. and the Westside concession.