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- Salt Lake City has started work to outline Liberty Park's future vision.
- A vision plan is scheduled to be completed by mid-2026.
- City officials recommended maintaining the park's historic nature and widespread community feedback in the planning process.
SALT LAKE CITY — Liberty Park is due for a facelift as it nears 150 years in existence, but what it will look like has yet to be decided.
Salt Lake City is working on a report of the cultural landscape of the popular park, which will essentially outline its history, said Tom Millar, planning and design division director of the Salt Lake City Public Lands Department. The information gathered will be used as part of a new "community-supported vision" to be finalized by the end of next year and will lay out the park's future.
"This cultural landscape report and vision plan will help us set the stage for the next phase of Liberty Park," he told Salt Lake City leaders on Tuesday. "That does not mean that we intend to change its nature as a regional park, as a destination for everybody."
Officials suggested Liberty Park get some infrastructure upgrades when they finalized a 20-year park master plan in 2022. They provided an update on developments on Tuesday.
The report will look at the park's history after the land was developed by pioneers following their 1847 arrival in the valley, said Kelly Ream, with Denver-based landscape architecture firm Mundus Bishop, which Salt Lake City hired as a consultant.
It will feature elements that have come and gone. While Liberty Park isn't the oldest park in the state, it is the state's oldest continuously managed city park. City officials dedicated the park in 1882, a year after they acquired the 100 acres of former farmland from Brigham Young's estate.
Some historic buildings sit on the premises, such as a home, mill and land that Isaac Chase first developed in 1848, and the greenhouse was constructed in 1903. Some of its facilities are updated versions of historic features. An improved playground and tennis courts were first built in the 1910s, according to the city.
What's housed at the park has also changed over time. For instance, it was the first home of Utah's Hogle Zoo before it relocated at the mouth of Emigration Canyon in the 1930s.
"The (report) will also document existing conditions and identify the resources and qualities that contribute to the historical significance of the park," Ream said, pointing to other features like its tree-lined walkways and places that offer views of the Wasatch Mountains.
The report is on track to be finalized by the end of the year, but planners believe they'll have enough information to develop future park recommendations by May — about the same time they launch a vision plan. The latter will mix findings of the first report with community feedback into an outline of how Liberty Park will be managed over at least the next decade.
Some of the park's features have already been updated or are slated to be upgraded. The city celebrated the park's new Utah Jazz-themed basketball court last year, while work to resurface its tennis courts is expected to be completed this year. Planning or construction has also already started for renovations to its historic koi and turtle pond, the Seven Canyons Fountain and Rotary Play Park.
Salt Lake City allocated over $1 million in capital improvement project funding last year toward restoration, design and construction tied to its greenhouse. Millar said infrastructure improvements are also needed for the park pond, at some point.
It remains unclear what the vision plan will add, but planners expect to have a draft report and alternatives to present by the end of this year or at the start of 2026.
Salt Lake City Council members said Tuesday they are excited about what's next but also voiced some concerns. Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano advocated for more maintenance over a major overhaul as at least one option because of its historic nature and existing popularity.
Millar clarified that the documents won't create a "blank slate" for the park. Ream added the project will feature community advisory committees composed of different organizations like Tracy Aviary, which is housed at the park, as well as historic groups like Preservation Utah, and neighborhood groups like the Central City, East Liberty and Liberty Wells community councils.
Yet, since it's also a beloved park, drawing in more people than any other city park, multiple councilors also advised planners to widely advertise public feedback options during the planning process. The city often targets neighborhoods or council districts affected by specific projects, but they said the park's future may require a wider scope.
"Liberty Park is one of those iconic parks across Salt Lake City that it doesn't really matter what district you live in, you're invested in it," said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Sarah Young.
