A new Denver-area playground designed and built by 18 students in the University of Colorado Boulder will celebrate its grand opening this Saturday, June 3, with a听ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The newly-completed playscape is located at听Kendall Apartments in Lakewood, an affordable housing community serving听48 families and 65-plus听children. The owner of the community, Northeast Denver Housing Center (NDHC), first approached environmental design instructor Jeremy Ehly about replacing the existing听meager playground structures.
Partnering with the NDHC, Ehly's students began working听on听the new playground as their junior year praxis project鈥攈andling everything from fundraising and听community outreach to design, fabrication and construction.听
Who: Open to the public
What: Ribbon-cutting ceremony
When: Saturday, June 3, 4 p.m.
Where: Kendall Apartments playground
To inform the design and identify what would be most valuable to the community, the students held meetings and completed door-to-door interviews at the apartment complex, resulting in specially designed play equipment requested by听the children and听multi-sensory spaces听that put all residents in touch with native vegetation and a serene environment听at home.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new playscape, located at 1760 Kendall St., will start at 4 p.m. and feature remarks from听the student design/build team, the NDHC and representatives from the city of Lakewood. Light refreshments and drinks will be provided.