To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Jeff Brauer, Director of Parks and Recreation
Title
Update: Cobblestone Ranch Park Planning
Body
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update to Town Council related to the development of Castle Rock’s next neighborhood park. Placing neighborhood parks within walking distance of all residents is a core level of service identified in the Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Master Plan. New park construction is funded through impact fees charged to new residential development.
The Cobblestone Ranch neighborhood was selected as the next priority for park development through a site selection process completed in late 2017. The 168-acre property located on the eastern edge of Cobblestone Ranch is ultimately planned as a regional park, but its purpose is also to serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhood. The 2019 budget includes funding to plan neighborhood park elements with construction beginning in 2020. In order to plan the neighborhood amenities, a master plan for the entire regional park must be completed to direct the overall vision and ensure the coordination of future access, amenities and utilities.
To begin the planning process, staff advertised a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop the regional park master plan and to complete construction and bid documents for an estimated eight to ten acre neighborhood park component. Seven landscape architectural firms responded to the RFP. All firms were interviewed and Norris Design was determined to provide the best value and fit for the project. Norris Design provided the lowest cost proposal and also successfully designed Deputy Zack S. Parrish III Memorial Park.
The initial contract with Norris Design will include master planning services. The team will collect site information and through public process, generate multiple design concepts and cost estimates for review. Once the visioning process is complete, the design team will present a final master plan design for resident review and Town Council approval. The plan will identify the first phase of construction that will include neighborhood park components.
Upon master plan approval, an additional contract to hone in and finalize the design of the neighborhood park component and necessary construction services will be completed. Final design and public process related to the neighborhood park portion will occur in the fall and construction and bid documents will be complete in the winter. The project will be bid early next year and construction will begin in spring 2020 with a planned completion of spring 2021.