A waterfront is the key to a city: that is nowhere more evident than in Denver, Colorado.

Situated at the nexus of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, Confluence Park marked Denver’s birthplace in 1858 when gold was first struck. Soon after, the area grew with the addition of warehouses, Speer Boulevard, railroads, and then as dumping grounds during its “Open Sewer Era.” However, in 1965, Denver’s most disastrous floods breached the city’s riverbanks and washed away much of the industrial infrastructure.

Since then, Denver has worked to piece back the riverfront. After the flood, the city began to clean up the South Platte River and finally opened it up as a public amenity with the establishment of Confluence Park and Commons Park, a regional network of greenways, and Elitch Gardens — what would become an iconic amusement park. Today’s rejuvenated downtown is the result of integrating riverfront open space with city life.

Now, the city meets The River Mile: South Platte River Restoration Project — a blueprint for both a more resilient and ecologically rich South Platte River that will protect the future of Denver’s downtown area and its growing residents.

The project is being developed by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, with Calibre Engineering serving as a program manager and lead design engineer, and Wenk Landscape Architects leading the design and stakeholder engagement. In July 2025, the team set a new standard by becoming the first riverine project to receive WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Verification – leading the way as the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River, in the state of Colorado, and to restore a floodway.

WEDG is a national rating system and gold standard for resilient, ecological, and accessible waterfront design. External specialists in engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture determined that the project exceeded the requirements for WEDG Verification, earning 151 out of 250 possible points in the standard (130 are needed to pass). In October 2023, the standard expanded to include inland rivers and lakes.

The restoration of the South Platte River is a part of a larger 70-acre mixed-use redevelopment plan for downtown Denver. The restoration of the South Platte River at The River Mile is a $120 million public/private partnership with funding provided by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the City and County of Denver. The river will be owned and operated as public land by the City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation and maintained by the Mile High Flood District. The design team also coordinated with the South Platte River & Tributaries Project, a plan to restore ecological conditions and reduce flood risks along the South Platte River.

Through this collaborative effort and immense undertaking, The River Mile will bring the river back to its natural state of flow and shape, creating a more resilient and inviting waterfront for animals, plants, and people alike.

Increasing River Capacity

Much of the development site is located within a 100-year floodplain and with the ever-present risk of water breaching the South Platte’s riverbanks and inundating nearby communities, this project takes on the formidable challenge of expanding the river’s capacity. To restore the river’s natural corridor, the project will dredge six to eight feet of sand to both narrow and deepen the river which will provide compensatory storage – additional space within the floodway that will help to hold more water during flood events and prevent it from overtopping the riverbanks.

The project will also remove the Confluence Park dam which will better connect the upstream and downstream sections of the river and reduce the rate of sedimentation accumulation in the channel. Selected outfalls will be redesigned as enhanced wetland areas that will help capture and filter stormwater from surrounding neighborhoods. Improving the river’s capacity will allow it to limit the 1% annual chance storm, reduce the risk of erosion and sedimentation, and protect nearly 150 acres of surrounding properties. The restoration of the river will make way for a replenished ecosystem as well.

Weaving a Continuous Ecosystem

The River Mile breathes new life into downtown Denver’s ecosystem, fostering more habitat for animals and plants both on the banks of the river and in the water. The project employs green infrastructure along the majority of its shoreline and creates one continuous habitat corridor. The project team adeptly selected a diverse palette of native plantings to replace invasive species and cultivate shoreline plant communities that can support a wider variety of animals. Ecological enhancements will be integrated on hardened structures, too, including riprap with grouted boulders and plantings as well as staggered bank terracing with overhanging riparian canopy.

In the water, the project is reintroducing several fish species back into the river, including native trout, and the deepened channel will provide improved conditions for their habitat, including additional fish passages. The team also innovatively used iterative hydraulic modeling to incorporate tree and shrub plantings within the river, balancing allowable tolerances and habitat value. The thoughtful design will result in a clean, healthy, and inviting river for community members to enjoy.

Reconnecting with Water

The River Mile project will open as a completely public space with increased physical and visual access to the water’s edge, including ADA access, walking trails, overlooks, new lawn spaces for respite, and two proposed pedestrian/bike bridges over the river to better connect residents between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. There will also be opportunities to directly interact with the water through multiple get downs, three fishing access points, and a kayak boat launch. The project team went above and beyond by imaginatively marrying resilience and access together through a new whitewater wave recreational feature that will provide enjoyment for users while also flushing away excess sand.

The Project Team

The collaborative efforts between Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and its project partners have led to the WEDG Verification of The River Mile project. Partners include:

• Calibre Engineering: management/engineering/recreation
• Wenk Landscape Architects: landscape architecture and stakeholder engagement
• River Works Ltd.: specialist river consultant
• Birch Ecology: ecology and restoration
• S2O Design and Engineering: hydraulics and recreation
• OTAK: structural engineer
• Black Creek Hydrology, LLC: geomorphology
• Aztec Consultants: survey
• Ninyo & Moore: geotechnical engineer
• Ramboll U.S.: environmental engineer
• Goodbee & Associates, Inc.: utilities
• Turner Construction Company: construction management

Waterfront Alliance congratulates the whole team in its endeavor to revitalize Denver’s downtown riverfront. View the official project case study.

You can learn more about the project and how it incorporated the principles of WEDG by joining the Waterfront Alliance’s webinar on Wednesday, featuring Waterfront Alliance leadership, and project team members including Calibre Engineering, Inc. and Wenk Landscape Architects.

Questions about the WEDG Verification process can be directed to Joseph Sutkowi, Chief Waterfront Design Officer at Waterfront Alliance, at [email protected].