"A lake that used to be 12 feet deep is in some places only 4 feet deep," Mayor Mike Johnston said from the shore of Sloan's Lake on September 2. "It affects the lake's health. It affects algae blooms. It affects our most beloved events."
He was announcing a proposed $50 million project to dredge the lake. Most of the money would come from a single source just south of the park. The old St. Anthony Central Hospital site is now apartments, a movie theater and senior housing, and the rising property values there are what would pay for the dredging. If you walk the loop this fall, you'll see fences and closed lots. That work is a separate set of park projects with its own schedule.
A shallow lake that draws a crowd
The city's numbers show what the problem is. Sloan's Lake covers 177 acres and welcomes about 2 million visitors a year. Many areas now average only 2.5 to 3 feet deep. The lake used to be 8 to 12 feet deep.
The Denver Post explained where the lost depth went. Large parts of Denver, Edgewater, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge drain into the lake, carrying sand, sediment and street grime, and that material settles on the bottom. Shallow water warms up fast, and warm water helps algae grow. According to the city, the sediment feeds harmful algal blooms, which lower oxygen levels and kill fish.
The park calendar shows the effects. In 2025, Denver Parks and Recreation didn't allow permitted lake events in July and August because of recurring blue-green algae. That moved the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival from its usual July weekend to September 6–7. The festival came back to Sloan's Lake on August 29–30 this year for its 26th year. Organizers said in their announcement that they were still worried about the lake's environmental health. Denverite reported that the shallow water makes it hard to lay out routes for the boats.
The money comes from across 17th Avenue
The funding plan is what's new here. Up to $40 million would come from the St. Anthony Urban Redevelopment Area, which was created in 2013. Another $5 million comes from the Vibrant Denver bond voters approved in 2025, and about $5 million from the city's Wastewater Enterprise Fund. The city says the project won't raise taxes or affect the general budget.
The redevelopment area covers about 32 acres between North Perry and Stuart streets and between West Colfax and 17th avenues. It runs on tax-increment financing. As property values rise with redevelopment, the extra tax revenue goes back into projects in the district. According to The Denver Post, the district has already helped pay for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, The Raleigh at Sloan's Lake apartments, and Vida at Sloan's, a Denver Housing Authority building for seniors and people with disabilities. The lake would be the next project funded the same way. To make that possible, the city is asking the Denver Urban Renewal Authority to add the lake to the district.
Johnston told Denverite the district has been "so successful ahead of schedule that we have additional dollars we can allocate." Councilwoman Jamie Torres represents the west Denver district just south of the lake. She described the approach as a creative answer to a tight city budget at a time when sales tax revenue isn't growing.
The $50 million is a starting point. The Post reported that the full lake cleanup has been estimated at $130 million or more. The city calls this investment a way to "begin removing sediment" and to test dredging methods in a busy urban park that it could use at other Denver lakes. A city spokeswoman told the Post the goal is to complete as much of the overall lake plan as possible.
What has to happen before any dredging
As of early October, this is still a proposal. Several approvals come first:
- The DURA board vote. DURA scheduled a special board meeting for Monday, September 14, 2026, to consider committing funds to a project in the St. Anthony Urban Redevelopment Area. We could not find a public record of the result.
- Denver City Council. Council votes after DURA. As of October 4, we found no introduction, committee action or Council vote on the funding in the city's legislative records.
- Design and federal permitting. After both approvals, the city works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the design, which the Post said would take several months.
- Work on the lake. The city expects to award the contract and finish permitting in 2027, with work starting in 2028. Axios reported the same timing. The Denver Post estimated construction would start in 2027.
The city's own schedule puts digging in 2028. The sources agree on how long the work takes once it begins. Denverite reported about 30 months to dredge and finish the improvements. Parks director Jolon Clark said "in the very short term, not a lot of changes."
What the lake work would and would not change
Officials have described the project in some detail. Crews would remove sediment, work to keep new sediment from building up, and restore the shoreline. Denverite reported that the shoreline and habitat work is meant to filter out sediment before it reaches the lakebed.
The lake won't be drained. Clark said parts of it may be walled off from the rest during the work, and that he hopes to keep as much of the park open as possible.
The ultimate goal after the project will be for visitors to be able to safely paddleboard and boat on the lake, but not necessarily to swim, which has a much higher water quality standard.
That's the Post's summary of what Clark said. The city has already made smaller fixes, including reshaping parts of the shoreline and installing aerators.
Kurt Weaver, executive director of the Sloan's Lake Park Foundation, noted that the foundation turns 10 this year and called the plan "an amazing gift." He asked neighbors to keep supporting the project through construction so it gets finished. Denverite reported that once the restoration is done, the foundation could become a "Friends of the Park" group. Weaver said that would mean being "out here every week" checking on trees, benches and soccer fields.
Edgewater Mayor Steve Conklin also welcomed the news. His town sits just west of the park, and its commercial areas depend heavily on park visitors.
The construction you can see now is the shore
The fences going up this fall belong to several smaller Denver Parks and Recreation projects with their own timelines:
- Southwest corner, Sheridan Boulevard and 17th Avenue. In September 2026 the city closed the parking lot and basketball court here so the nearby building can be converted into a maintenance facility. Part of the trail will close later in construction, and the city expects closures to last through early 2027.
- North tennis and basketball courts. Both are being replaced with better accessibility. Construction starts in winter 2026 and is scheduled to finish in fall 2027.
- The boathouse near Wolff Street and West Byron Place. The historic building on the north shore, now used by park operations, Adaptive Recreation and park rangers, will become a 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot community and event space connected to the marina. The preferred design was presented on January 29, 2026. Denverite put the renovation at $7 million. In May, the city issued a request for information to concession operators who could sell packaged food and drinks, possibly including beer and wine, at the boathouse and manage food trucks. Interested vendors had until June 22 to send preliminary business plans, and the Post reported that a formal call for proposals would follow later in the summer. The target opening for the concession is spring 2028.
If the city's lake schedule holds, the boathouse concession and the start of dredging both land in 2028. The new event space would open on the water just as work on the water begins.
October on the south shore
Most of this month's events are near 17th Avenue. The closed Sheridan lot is at the west end of that stretch, so expect parking to be tighter than usual on busy weekends.
- Denver Dog Days, Saturday, October 10, noon to 5 p.m. It takes place in Sloan's Lake Park near Utica Street and West 17th Avenue, and the dog costume contest starts at 3 p.m.
- Stoney's Sloan's Lake 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carve, Friday, October 16, 7 to 10 p.m. Stoney's is at 1565 N. Raleigh Street, in the former Sloan's Lake Tap & Burger space. A $12 ticket includes a pumpkin, carving tools and a seat. There will be pumpkin beers on tap and a stein-hoisting competition with Sam Adams Oktoberfest. One person per group should email to reserve a table after buying tickets.
- MonsterDash 5K/10K, Saturday, October 24. Packet pickup runs from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Sloan's Lake Park South, 4600 W. 17th Ave. That's the only pickup window. The 5K and 10K start together at 9:30 a.m., followed by a sports expo and hot food until noon.
The Sloan's Lake Fall BAZAAR on October 3 and West Colfax Lucha Libre on October 4 at 1611 N. Raleigh Street have already happened. Raleigh Street runs through the redevelopment district that may end up funding the lake work.
Ben Gippert and the team at Horizon Home Group will keep following the Sloan's Lake plan through the DURA and City Council votes. If you own near the park and want to talk through how a multiyear lake project and a new boathouse could affect your plans for the next few years, let's connect and build your real estate strategy.
