$20.5 Million Hole In One

Denver Buys Park Hill Golf Course; Future Of Property Uncertain

On Sept. 21, Clayton Early Learning announced plans to sell the 155 acres of land that currently comprises the Park Hill Golf Course to the City of Denver, for $20.5 million.

The historic Clayton Campus, at Colorado Boulevard and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, was founded more than 100 years ago and has served as an orphanage, and more recently as a preschool serving vulnerable populations. The Clayton Trust also owns the Park Hill Golf Course land, which stretches roughly from Colorado Boulevard east to Dahlia Street, and 35th Avenue north to Smith Road.

Several months ago Clayton President and CEO Charlotte Brantley announced the golf course was a money-losing proposition and that Clayton would seek input on how the land could be best used.

After the purchase deal with Denver was announced, the city did not detail its plans – including whether it will pursue development or preserve the land as open space. Rather, Clayton Early Learning, via the Denver-based public policy and communications consulting company CRL Associates, noted that the “community visioning process” currently underway will continue.

For background and insider insights on the community process to date, click here.

— Cara DeGette