For the first time in a decade, the City of Boulder has a newly named park. The project has been called “the future park on Violet” now, thanks to great community engagement, the park has been officially named “Primos Park.”

For the first time in a decade, the City of Boulder has a newly named park.

Boulder’s Parks and Recreation Department has been creating a new neighborhood park on a 9-acre site along Violet Avenue between Broadway and 19th Streets. The project has been called “the future park on Violet” now, thanks to great community engagement, the park has been officially named “Primos Park.”

“Primos” means “cousins” in Spanish and reflects neighbors’ hopes of gathering with friends and family in the future park. The combination of the Spanish word “Primos” and the English word “Park” resonated with many community members’ multilingual experiences.

“This name was suggested through engaging with middle and high-school youth who live in the adjacent Boulder Meadows manufactured home community and then supported by other neighbors and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board,” said Parks and Recreation Director Ali Rhodes. “This marks the city’s first park with a Spanglish name which resonated with many community members’ multi-lingual experiences.”

The city also worked with “community connectors” during the engagement process, including Bernardo Padilla, Paras Lamsal and Sarah Malin. Connectors led workshops with neighborhood youth to gather and prioritize ideas, get feedback from neighbors, and host conversations with community about name options.

“[The youth of Boulder Meadows] helped us a lot so that this park and this park name have a great sense of family and community,” said community connector Bernardo Padilla.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, who has authority over park naming, approved this recommended new name at their June 24 meeting.

Park neighbors invite community members to a ceremony to commemorate the new park name at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 27. The event will take place on the east side of the park near the end of Appletree Court. Appletree Court will be closed to traffic and parking is limited along Violet Avenue, so please use alternative transportation, if possible.

Primos Park is designed to be a “close-to-home” park for those who live within walking distance. While details for the park’s design are still coming together, a preliminary concept plan for the park has emerged through community engagement over the last year. Highlights of this plan include:

  • Ecosystem enhancements to address flooding, increase biodiversity and support pollinator pathways and wildlife movement.
  • Dispersed nature “play pods” throughout the site that advance gross-motor skills, fine-motor skills, creativity and social interaction among people with and without disabilities.
  • An outdoor pavilion with an adjacent play plaza and food truck staging.
  • A small-scale amphitheater for community gathering, outdoor learning and dramatic play.
  • A small-scale “Neighborhood Base Camp” (gear library and a restroom) to support youth- and community-led programming.

In addition, neighbors can expect to see small-scale transportation improvements, tentatively scheduled for August, to improve safe access to and from the park and nearby schools. Through a grant from the Safe Routes Partnership, city staff have collaborated with community members, the Play Boulder Foundation, Boulder Valley School District, the Center for People with Disabilities, and other partners to prioritize these pedestrian safety and traffic calming measures along nearby parts of Violet Avenue and 19th Street. These quick-build improvements will inform future, more permanent transportation improvements in the area.

The final park’s design is dependent upon funding. Community members can expect to learn more about the final design, including philanthropic giving and private sponsorship opportunities, later this year.

Keep Reading