On the old Boulder Community Hospital site, a curving channel now runs through native grasses and wildflowers. A thin stream of water sits at the bottom. Next to it is a brick-paver plaza with wooden benches, boulders and flowering plantings. The City of Boulder's photos of the finished Alpine-Balsam channel, posted in September, also show concrete channel walls seen from a bridge railing, with the foothills behind.
The city and the Mile High Flood District announced the channel complete in a release dated Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Yellow Scene republished it five days later. For Newlands, the important part is the order things are finishing in. The connection from Broadway to North Boulder Park is done. North Boulder Park, the city offices on the hospital site and the trail up Mount Sanitas are all still being worked on. This fall and winter, the walk is the newest finished thing on the route.
What's Finished at Alpine-Balsam
The city bought the hospital property in 2015 and broke ground on Dec. 17, 2024. Its own project page counts 11 years of work so far, with "several more years of construction to go before development is done." The channel is the first big piece of that plan you can walk through, and the city built it to be used. Here is how the project page describes it:
"In addition to standard drainage features, the completed channel transforms a functional floodway into a neighborhood amenity incorporating landscaping, ecological function, mobility improvements and high-quality public spaces alongside its core flood protection role."
The city's list of features covers safer walking and biking links from Broadway to North Boulder Park, improved pedestrian crossings, better bike access, and space for B-Cycle and Lime scooters. It also lists a new plaza, landscaped areas, and native plants and shade trees chosen for pollinators and birds. The city's Alpine-Balsam FAQ describes the planned greenway with two east-west paseos. One is a concrete multiuse path, and the other "will likely be a pedestrian path that meanders along the future path of the stormwater." That FAQ was written as a plan, so walk it before counting on both paths.
The channel physically ties into the park at 9th Street. A box culvert carries water under the street and drains into the open channel on the Alpine-Balsam site. The city calls that a first step toward fixing the flooding North Boulder Park gets in heavy rain. The city and the Mile High Flood District will share maintenance of the channel.
There's one detail to check on the Broadway side. The city's construction-impact list had the southbound Broadway sidewalk between Balsam and Alpine closed through Sept. 30. That date has passed. Check the city's construction and maintenance page for current conditions before you plan a stroller or bike route along that block.
The Park End Is Still Out to Bid
North Boulder Park is next on the schedule, and its timeline is longer than it looks. In March 2026 the city revised the renovation plan after the community asked to keep the park's open, flexible feel. That meant the big lawn, the Nordic skiing and the self-organized activities. The revised concept keeps the large lawn and the ski route. It moves the ballfields about 70 feet south and adds a full basketball court and lawn space for volleyball.
The city's published schedule breaks the work into separate tracks:
- Restroom and pavilion renovation: "October – March 2027"
- Site permitting: September through December 2026
- Site construction documents: September 2026 through March 2027
- Site bidding and negotiations: April through June 2027
- Site construction begins: September 2027
The pavilion track is the one to watch. On Sept. 25, 2026, the city posted solicitation 37-2026, "Restroom / Pavilion Renovation at North Boulder Park," with bids closing Nov. 2, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. No contractor is named yet. With bids still open in early October, the October start on the city's schedule describes a window. It doesn't mean crews are working. We found no official notice that the restroom is closed now. When the work does start, the city plans to turn the pavilion into an indoor/outdoor space for programs, rentals and events.
So from now through spring, the new greenway leads to a park that looks the way it always has. Most of the visible changes there are about a year out.
Ski Season Overlaps the Pavilion Work
The schedule has the pavilion work running through March 2027, the same months North Boulder Park hosts Nordic skiing. The city has said it wants to keep that. Its renovation FAQ says the project team joined the Boulder Nordic Club for the first ski-track grooming of last season. A photo on that page is dated December 2025 and shows a volunteer groomer next to the snowmobile trailer. The team measured the snowmobile's turning radius and skied laps.
The design commitment is specific. Skiers asked for an inner loop and an outer loop close to today's lengths. The city says it is providing that, and keeping the northeast "hill" and the southwest tree-skiing area. Those promises are about the finished park. The city hasn't said how grooming will work this winter while the pavilion is being renovated. The Boulder Nordic Club is the group to watch for the first grooming report of the 2026–27 season.
Up the Hill, Sanitas Is Still Under Repair
The trail many Newlands residents reach on foot is also still being worked on. The city's list of 2026 open space projects puts Mount Sanitas trail repairs at May through November. The work includes replacing failing infrastructure and rebuilding failing switchbacks. Crews are also narrowing spots where the trail has split into parallel tracks and adding stone steps to slow erosion and protect the plants.
That project summary doesn't give a closure schedule for the trailhead. For daily conditions, check the city's OSMP closures page before you go. If the work wraps up on schedule, the switchbacks and steps should be done by the time the park's restroom work is fully underway.
The Broadway Side Is Changing Slowly Too
The east end of the route is on its own schedule. The Western City Campus, the city's new customer service and municipal office hub on the Alpine-Balsam site, is expected to open to the public in 2027. An aerial photo on the city's Alpine-Balsam page shows a multistory building still under construction next to the channel.
Across Broadway, the Ideal Broadway Shops at Alpine and Broadway have been changing for a while. In February 2026, Boulder Reporting Lab reported that the owners of Pekoe were nearing the end of their lease there and looking for another affordable Boulder location. The report gave no move-out date. We haven't found a later confirmation of where Pekoe ended up or who will take the space. Treat it as unsettled until the storefront says otherwise.
An October Loop Using the Finished Path
Here's a walk that uses the finished piece and skips what's still in progress:
- Start at Broadway and Alpine, by the Ideal Broadway Shops. Check that the southbound sidewalk toward Balsam is open.
- Head west into the Alpine-Balsam greenway. Stop at the brick-paver plaza and look for the native plantings and new shade trees along the channel.
- Follow the channel to 9th Street, where the box culvert ties the greenway to North Boulder Park.
- Cross into the park and walk the lawn the city's revised plan is keeping, the same ground that becomes the Nordic loops after the first good snow.
- If you want more climbing, keep going west to the Mount Sanitas trailhead. Check the OSMP closures page first, since repairs are scheduled to run through November.
For the next several months, the greenway and plaza are the only new features you'll see on this walk. The pavilion bids close Nov. 2, and park construction starts in September 2027.
If you live near Alpine-Balsam and want to know how the Western City Campus and the North Boulder Park schedule could affect your block over the next two years, Wood Residential can walk through the timelines with you. Request a private neighborhood consultation.
