Whitman Park Design Project
The 2024 schematic design for Whitman Park was created through almost a 1000 survey responses, numerous public meetings and outreach. The current plan envisions a re-activated park with a permanent food truck court area, an event stage, a climbing wall, iconic art including a destination ‘welcome to downtown GJ’ feature, a dog play area with synthetic turf, pollinator gardens, a playground, a multi-purpose athletic court for basketball and pickleball that would double as a seasonal synthetic ice rink, and an event space connected with the Holiday lights on Main St. and Colorado Ave. to expand the popular annual tree lighting ceremony. As the City moves into final design this spring, summer and fall of 2025, the community will continue to be engaged. Please continue to providing input on engagegj.org. Construction funding is being considered through grants, partnerships and funding that must only be used for parks and recreation. A phasing of improvements is likely to be required.
The potential renovation of Whitman Park is yet another project to implement the 2021 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan (PROS Master Plan). The PROS Master Plan envisions reactivating existing parks, especially mature downtown parks with extensive tree canopies like Emerson and Whitman. Other PROS Master Plan priorities include the Community Recreation Center, the Lincoln Park Pickleball Complex, the Canyon View Tennis Complex, the Emerson Skate Park, Monument Connect Trail Phase II, and Dos Rios Park. There was also significant public safety issues present in Whitman that precipitated closure including recent assaults on Police Officiers. The amount of violent crime, drug use and vandalism rose to an unacceptable and an untenable level, leading to the closure. Whitman has also historically been a gathering place for unhoused members of the community. The consistent large number of people experiencing homelessness residing in Whitman was to such an extent that the broader community did not feel comfortable or safe visiting Whitman. Furthermore, Whitman was not a safe space for those experiencing houselessness. Another key development related to the unhoused population is that the City recently created the Housing Division under Community Development Department. Working closely with partners such as non-profit service providers, major strides have been made to improve services to the unhoused community well beyond any level seen in the City’s history. In 2023 and 2024, the City invested over $19M in housing support, which leveraged an additional $43M in partner investment.
View the final Whitman schematic design by clicking on the layout below:
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).
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.
