Whitman Park Design Project
The final schematic design for updates to Whitman Park was presented to City Council on Monday, August 19. The proposed project features various elements based on feedback from a public survey that received more than 900 responses. These components include a playground, food truck court, dog park, bouldering area, walking paths, and more. View the City Council workshop from August 19, 2024 (beginning at 1:33).
View the final Whitman schematic design by clicking on the layout below:
The City of Grand Junction hosted the second public meeting for renovations of Whitman Park on May 14, 2024. View the presentation below.
Community members are welcome to add ideas in the tools section!
This project page serves as an engagement opportunity for community members to share their ideas on the future of the park, please take the short survey below and give us your thoughts!
Background
Following a request for proposal, DTJ Design was selected to facilitate the planning process given their extensive experience in similar projects, their ability to reimage community spaces, their expertise in placemaking, and their comprehensive team that includes many locals in a wide variety of trades. The Whitman renovation is a top priority in the 2021 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, which was created after in-depth public engagement that included over 3000 residents. The plan, among many projects and priorities, includes the Community Recreation Center, the tennis/pickleball expansion project, the Emerson Skate Park and the renovation of Whitman. 2023 saw a site master planning process for Emerson, followed by construction of a high-end skate park in 2024. Whitman is positioned for a similar progression, with site master planning occurring in 2024, followed by potential construction in the near term. Reactivation is the goal to ensure broad public usage and benefit from Whitman Park, which has historically been a gathering place for the unhoused community.
The planning to renovate the downtown park coincides with the opening of the HomewardBound Resource Center at 261 Ute Ave. The unhoused community now has improved service far beyond from what Whitman provided. The HomewardBound Resource Center was funded by the City and is operated by HomewardBound and United Way of Mesa County. It provides a large space that can be heated and cooled based on the season, free community meals for the unhoused, a centralized space for resource navigation from service providers, and flushing toilets as well as hot showers. This new resource complements the more than $18 million provided by the City to unhoused service providers over the past 18 years, along with another approximately $8 million budgeted in 2024. This wholistic approach to a very complex problem that is facing many communities across the country, provides an opportunity to renovate and reactivate downtown parks. Help us chart the path for the future of Whitman Park by attending the upcoming meeting or providing your input on the survey.
