Civitas Asks ‘How Do You Imagine the Future of Fairmont Park?’

Denver, Colorado – February 28, 2025 – The award-winning landscape architecture and urban design firm Civitas has been selected by the Salt Lake City Public Lands Department to envision the future of Fairmont Park and is kicking off the project’s public engagement process. A community meeting will be held on Thursday, March 6, 2025, from 4:00-7:00pm MST at the Forest Dale Golf Course clubhouse. This first phase of the project is funded by a bond approved by voters in November 2022, and aligns with the City’s Reimagine Nature master plan, which prioritizes the creation of more sustainable parks and open spaces across Salt Lake City.

First established in the 1930s, Fairmont Park—located at 1040 East Sugarmont Drive in Salt Lake City’s dynamic Sugar House neighborhood—is a 27-acre park comprising various athletic fields and courts, playgrounds, pavilions, restrooms, a skate park, an off-leash dog area, and a fishing pond. The Fairmont Aquatic Center, Sugar House Boys & Girls Club, YouthCity, and a Public Lands Park Ranger hub share property within the park.

The City’s goal is to expand the level of service within Fairmont Park, improving accessibility and interest, and creating a more active and vibrant community gathering space. The public engagement process aims to identify and envision the improvements. Feedback gathered throughout this process will determine community priorities and future uses of this space, in addition to safety improvements park wide.

Public engagement is Civitas’ first priority. “We’re motivated to connect and gather great input from the Sugar House community so that we can work together to design a place they’ll be proud of and want to visit often,” said Lindsay Hand, a registered landscape architect at Civitas and lead designer on the project. “We won’t start designing until we’ve heard from the community. Fairmont Park belongs to them, so we hope they feel empowered to shape its future.”

As the design unfolds following the public engagement process, the team will pursue SITES certification for Fairmont Park as a sustainable and resilient landscape that reduces water demand and stormwater runoff, enhances biodiversity, improves air quality, supports human health, increases outdoor recreation activities, and much more.

Salt Lake City residents will be invited to share their ideas and opinions about Fairmont Park’s future in Civitas’ online survey, which will be available after the March 6th community meeting through the City’s website: gobondparks.com/FairmontPark.

For interviews, images, and additional information, please contact Agency PR via email at civitas@agencypr.co.

Founded in 1984 with the core purpose of “creating healthier cities,” Civitas is an urban design and landscape architecture firm that shapes cities for the better by transforming urban places into living, breathing ecosystems, and seamlessly blending nature with city life. Known as expert listeners and designers, the firm engages communities to co-create sustainable, city-defining places. Curbed has recognized Civitas as one of five practitioners “who are putting the public back in public space,” and Fast Company has acknowledged Civitas in its Innovation by Design Awards. A consultancy and design studio, Civitas advises on a wide range of strategies for re-imagining urban life and places, working in U.S. cities coast to coast and around the world. For additional information, visit civitasinc.com.