Skaters, bikers, ballplayers and sunbathers will all find their place in Panorama Park, a southeast community space nearing the end of a $9 million makeover.

The 13-acre park that was once mostly a flat, vacant lawn is set to reopen in July with features intended to serve everyone.

At the heart of the park is a $1 million playground gifted to the city by the Trust for Public Land and built with universal design concepts that go beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Jake Butterfield, construction project manager for Colorado Springs parks and recreation.

“It puts the person at the center of play,” he said.

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For example, a child in a wheelchair will be able to roll into the new spinning merry-go-round and anyone will be able to easily reach the top of the slides because the path was built at less than a 5% slope, he said. The new playground also includes a small “cozy corner,” reminiscent of a large hollow turtle shell with holes in it, for kids with autism to take a break from the excitement.

Universal design takes a more holistic approach than meeting federal standards for disability accessibility; it’s founded on design principles that are simple and easy for all to understand, said Amber Carlton, a spokeswoman for The Independence Center, a Colorado Springs nonprofit that works on civil rights issues for those with disabilities.

“When you are building from the ground up in public places, now nobody is excluded. … That’s what community should be,” she said.

The new park, designed with extensive community input, will also feature a splash pad, basketball courts, bike park, a grand lawn for events, concrete skateboard features, an outdoor workout space and a multiuse ballfield.

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The synthetic-turf ballfield will help meet the demand for practice space in town, particularly as the city works to encourage young children to try team sports by waiving registrations for thousands of kids in the coming years.

“Every bit of green space that’s playable, we use,” said Karen Palus, parks, recreation and cultural services director.

To help encourage water conservation, much of the park will be planted with native grasses that will need some irrigation but not nearly as much as Kentucky bluegrass, parks officials said.

One the finishing touches on the park will be a highly detailed mosaic made from thousands of tiles created by community members. Butterfield said he expects it will go up around July 1, ahead of the park’s opening later in the month.

The community was heavily involved in planning the park at every stage, Palus said, and she expects the community will have ownership in it after the opening.

“When you build (parks), you want people who are going to love and support them,” Palus said.

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