Denver dogs have been waiting at the gate of the Railyard Dog Park for more than five years.
This week, construction finally started on the doggone thing.
Members of The Railyard Dogs, the neighborhood pack pulling for the downtown off-leash park, hope to have the project done by Labor Day.
“There are so many dogs, large and small, that live apartment lives,” said Lindsey Larson, who lives in a pet-friendly apartment building in the Central Platte Valley, just steps from the new dog park. She and her Yorkshire terrier, Oliver, typically exercise by making on-leash loops around the neighborhood. “This will be a great opportunity for them to play.”
Plans for the 0.85-acre park on a triangle of land near the corner of 19th and Bassett streets were announced in 2005. The Railyard Dogs launched a fundraising campaign to gather the estimated $450,000 needed to build the park. Designs were done, and negotiations between the city and the River Front Park neighborhood began.
Things moved slowly.
“A big part of it was financial,” said Amy Cara, chief financial officer of the neighborhood developer, East West Partners, and a member of the Railyard Dogs board. “But I also don’t think any of us had an understanding of all the little details that would have to get worked out between us and the city.”
Fast forward to Monday, when work excavating coal ash left by the railroad began in earnest. Along the way, designs have changed — for example, a proposed artificial turf system has been replaced by a complex system of quick-draining soils — and the price tag has climbed to about $570,000.
The River Front Park Community Foundation has donated $250,000 to the project. Another $90,000 was gathered during a series of fashion shows in the neighborhood. Local businesses chipped in, as have individuals.
The foundation closed the last gap with an $84,000 loan that is a 50 percent challenge. “The concept is that they will match, dollar-for-dollar, up to $42,000, anything we raise between now and when the park opens,” Cara said.
When the park is done, it will be handed over to the city.
“We do hope The Railyard Dogs will live on as an organization and help with keeping it extra nice,” Cara said. “We also hope it will be a model for other organizations to do this around town.”
Cara said she expects to see dogs from the Ballpark and Highland neighborhoods join up with the River Front pooches at the park.
The fenced park will be landscaped along the edges and will include trees, decorated pee posts, a shade structure and separate play areas for small and large dogs.
The closest off-leash park is about 6 miles away in the Berkeley neighborhood, on West 46th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.
City Councilwoman Judy Montero, whose district includes River Front, has been involved in work on the park from the beginning.
“It took a lot of time and effort, and the idea is the first public and private collaboration in that area,” she said. “It is positive.”
Annette Espinoza: 303-954-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com
Sniff out the action online
Want to throw the Railyard Dog Park a bone?
Get more details on the park, future fundraisers and ways to participate at railyarddogs.org.