Longtime Colorado outdoors nonprofit could leave Denver after being asked to move out of Wash Park
In Denver, the city is gaining a foothold at one of the most popular parks. CBS Colorado reported that Wheel Fun Rentals, which has provided boats and bikes to people at Washington Park for more than 20 years, was forced to leave after the city chose not to renew its lease.
A volunteer with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado saw the story and reached out to CBS Colorado to explain their situation. VOC is headquartered just across the lake from where the bike and boat rentals company was in Wash Park, and after a long-term partnership with the city, they, too, are being asked to leave.
Right along Smith Lake is the historic Dos Chappell Bathhouse built in 1911.
"It was where everybody changed into their swimsuits," explained VOC Executive Director Chris Nesset, when the lake was used for swimming.
Thirty years ago, however, the building was dilapidated, the front room was rotting, according to Nesset. That's when Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado stepped in with a proposition for the city, sinking nearly $1 million into bringing the bathhouse back to life.
"In exchange for that, the city agreed to say, okay, you can have a lease where you're here in this space and building for 30 years," Nesset said.
It was the perfect fit for an organization whose mission is to take care of and restore Colorado's outdoor spaces for more than four decades.
"The trail that you see going around Smith Lake that was created by VOC and has been maintained over the years, as one easy example," said Nesset.
But now their 30 year lease is coming up at the end of the year. To get ahead of the process, VOC reached out to the city and was shocked to hear they weren't going to renew their lease. Instead, they say, the city pointed to other buildings they could move into that needed work.
"Would it be just another process where we're basically bringing the facility up to code? Making it nice, and then the city is taking it over again, which is understandable, but that's not our mission," Nesset said.
Denver Parks and Recreation provided this statement to CBS Colorado:
"Once a lease comes up in our system, we routinely re-evaluate whether there is a park purpose that facility could serve; We only lease space to external organizations when there is not. A lot has changed in Washington Park over the last few decades since this lease began and we believe that moving forward, this building can directly serve the park, park experience, and park user. In the meantime, DPR is currently working with VOC on a short-term extension of their current lease until the end of 2027. No decisions about any specific future use have been made at this time."
Still, VOC is searching for a new building to call home in Colorado.
"We might be leaving the city of Denver, which is a really sad thing, we do a lot to contribute to the mountain parks in the area, as well as the city parks, where we're maintaining a lot of the local gardens," said Nesset. "Basically, all that food that we maintain that comes from those gardens goes to local food banks. The city is not paying for any of those efforts."
