All photos courtesy of City of Fort Lupton
After several years of planning and fundraising, the city of Fort Lupton, Colorado, has opened an award-winning inclusive community park for all to enjoy, regardless of social or economic barriers, or physical disabilities. The new project includes a Vortex Splashpad®, ADA-accessible playground, restrooms, shade structures, and picnic tables. Fort Lupton Recreation Center, adjacent to the park, also underwent extensive renovations and now includes a Vortex CoolHub™ Abrio refreshment zone.
Fort Lupton actively engaged the community and end users in the Community Park planning process, conducting surveys and garnering support. It even worked with the third grade classrooms across the Fort Lupton school district, asking the kids to participate in an interactive kid-friendly survey!! Initial funding was provided by Great Outdoors Colorado and The Weld Trust. And a very successful fundraising campaign brought in additional contributions from both local businesses and families.
The nature inspired Splash pad has colorful, whimsical aquatic play products like Flower No1, Leaf No2, and Oak Tree. It also features Water Journey™ – Race, a ground-level design modelled after running streams and sandy shorelines. Consisting of two side-by-side tracks, Race brings out the little ones’ competitive spirit as they move floating objects from a start pool to the final drain.
A refreshment zone, courtesy of Vortex’s new CoolHub™ Abrio, is one of the wonderful additions to the nearby Recreation Center. The south-facing patio gets extremely hot in the summer, so it will be a welcome space to cool off! Shade, seating, misting and its attractive aesthetics made Abrio the ideal amenity for the patio; the space is rented out for parties and events and generates revenue for the City. Solar-powered, with on-demand activation and real-time flow control, it effectively manages water usage while being energy-efficient.
Fort Lupton Community Center Park Renovation was selected as the recipient of the CPRA 2024 Columbine Award for Renovated Park Design.
In Action
Testimonials
« The #1 park amenity that the kids and community wanted was Water Play – A Splash Park! Thank you to the Vortex team for designing such a great Splash Park! The citizens of Fort Lupton will be able to explore every corner, swing high, slide fast and get wet and create memories that last a lifetime! »
