It’s time for a new playground at 41st & Tennyson.
The park at 41st and Tennyson (formerly César Chávez Park) is one of Denver’s most beloved public spaces. It anchors the Tennyson corridor. It’s full of families every day. It hosts our festivals, our gatherings, our everyday life as a community.
The playground doesn’t match.
The equipment is nearly 30 years old. It’s past its expected lifespan. It doesn’t meet current safety standards. A child was seriously injured on a faulty tire swing two years ago and that same equipment has already failed again. There’s almost nothing for kids over 6. It’s not ADA-accessible. As Berkeley grows and more young families move in, this park should be a place that works for everyone — and right now, it isn’t.
We’re going to change that.
Click here to add your name to the list of neighbors backing this initiative.
Click here to read BRUN’s letter to Denver Parks and Recreation.
Who we are
The Park Renewal Committee is a working group of Berkeley neighbors.
Dan Swislow
Dan is a member of BRUN’s board of directors and a Berkeley dad, having lived in the neighborhood since 2020. He and his wife Sarah can be found with their two year old son at the park on Tennyson several days a week.
John Devine
John and his wife Melanie have been living in North Denver neighborhoods since 2018. They spend each morning strolling around Berkeley with their 10 month old girl and dog, and are the organizers of the popular monthly coffee meetups in the park.
Lara Grillos
Lara has lived in the neighborhood with her husband, Mark, since 2009, raising two children (8 and 10) and a rotating cast of dogs, chickens, plants, fish, and sourdough starters. When not tending to the above, she can be found running laps around Berkeley and Rocky Mountain Lakes or disappearing into the mountains on foot, by bike, or with her snowboard.
Heather Noyes
Heather is the owner and managing principal of StudioCPG, the landscape architecture and planning firm that designed both the Tennyson streetscape and the park’s 2013 improvements. A neighborhood advocate since 1991, Heather is a former BRUN president. She and her husband Billy raised two kids in the neighborhood.
Deepa Challa
Deepa is a recent transplant to the neighborhood with two small kids (6 and 4). She is an active member of the Centennial Elementary PTA and knows that this neighborhood is very excited about the possibility of a new and improved playground that can suit the needs of this growing community.
Stephen Smeltz
Stephen has lived in Regis since 2018. He has two young boys and wife. Together they love to explore each park that the Northside has to offer.
The committee is in regular communication and is still coming up with its process for meeting and organizing. It reports to the BRUN board. New members are welcome – see below.
Where things stand
The Park Renewal Committee was created by a unanimous vote of the BRUN board on April 21, 2026.
On May 16, we sent a formal letter to Denver Parks & Recreation making the case for a full playground renovation. DPR responded quickly: the department has prioritized the playground for replacement, with design funding requested in 2027 and construction funding anticipated in 2028.
That’s a real commitment from the city. It’s not enough.
A 2028 construction timeline means at least three more years of kids playing on equipment that’s unsafe and failing. The park is also entering a community reframing process for its name — a once-in-a-generation moment to pair a new identity with the physical investment this space deserves. Waiting until 2028 means missing it.
We’re going to push hard to move that timeline up, expand the scope of what gets built, and make sure the design reflects what this community actually needs.
What we’re fighting for
- A faster timeline. Move design and construction up from a 2028 funding request and an unknown construction timeline if that request is approved.
- A strong vision. Not a minimum replacement – a full, inclusive, sustainable, multi-age, ADA-accessible playground that matches the ambition of this neighborhood.
- Real community input. A design shaped by the families who actually use this park.
- Private investment alongside public. Grants, foundation support, and Tennyson business sponsorships to expand what the city can do on its own.
How to get involved
The city moves when the community shows up. Here’s how you can help us show up.
Sign on.
Click here to add your name to the list of neighbors backing this initiative.
The bigger the list, the more weight it carries with the city and with the press.
As part of building this list, we want to hear your story. If your family uses this park – if you’ve seen the safety issues firsthand, if your child has been hurt there, if you’ve watched what the playground means to your community – please share your experiences through this form. Stories from real neighbors are what move city timelines.
Join the committee.
You don’t have to be on the BRUN board or an active member. We need parents, neighbors, and members of the community to share their voices. If you want to help lead this work, we want you in the room.
Spread the word.
Forward this page. Talk to your neighbors. Bring this up at your block party, your school pickup, your coffee shop. The more people who know what’s at stake, the harder this is to ignore.
Contact
We are working on creating a separate contact email for this initiative. Until then, please reach out to BRUN board member and Park Renewal Committee member Dan Swislow at dswislow@gmail.com.
Berkeley Regis United Neighbors 