The River Mile: South Platte River Restoration Project - First Riverine Project to Achieve WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Verification

First Western U.S. Project to Meet the Gold Standard in Waterfront Design

New York, New York, Sept. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New York, NY — The Waterfront Alliance announced today that The River Mile: South Platte River Restoration Project in Denver, CO is the first riverine project to achieve WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Verification under Version 3.0 of the standard. WEDG is a national rating system and set of guidelines that pushes the bar for creating resilient, ecological, and accessible waterfront design. The River Mile is the fifteenth project overall to meet WEDG’s gold standard and the first of its kind in the state of Colorado, west of the Mississippi River, and to restore a floodway.

The birthplace of Denver, the South Platte River has long been key to shaping the landscape of the city as we know it today. Although opportunities for live, work, and play have continued to grow on the riverfront, the South Platte remains home to repeated flooding and climate hazard risks. With much of the redevelopment site located within a 100-year floodplain, The River Mile design team leads Calibre Engineering and Wenk Landscape Architects devised a plan to not only revitalize a river that has become over-shallow and sedimented but also provide protection for neighboring communities and continued opportunities for connection to the water.

The restoration of the South Platte River is a part of a larger 70-acre mixed-use redevelopment plan for downtown Denver. The restoration of the South Platte River at The River Mile is a $120 million public/private partnership with funding provided by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the City and County of Denver. The river will be owned and operated as public land by the City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation and maintained by the Mile High Flood District. The design team also coordinated with the South Platte River & Tributaries Project, a plan to restore ecological conditions and reduce flood risks along the South Platte River.

Through this collaborative effort and immense undertaking, The River Mile will bring the South Platte River back to its natural state of flow and shape, creating a more resilient and inviting waterfront for animals, plants, and people alike.

“We are excited to announce that The River Mile project is the first riverine project to earn WEDG Verification, and the first to achieve the standard in Colorado and to restore a floodway," said Waterfront Alliance Interim President and CEO, Chris Ward. "This remarkable endeavor will shape the future of Denver’s downtown and protect its surrounding communities from the omnipresent risks of flooding. The River Mile leads the way for WEDG projects on waterfronts of all kinds across the country."

The River Mile will dredge six to eight feet of sand to both narrow and deepen the river channel and expand its capacity to contain water from overtopping the riverbanks during flood events. The resulting design will limit the 1% annual chance storm, reduce the risk of erosion and sedimentation, and protect nearly 150 acres of surrounding properties.

The project also breathes new life into downtown Denver’s ecosystem. The design team adeptly integrates green infrastructure and native plantings along an approximately 75% nature-based or natural shoreline, creating one continuous habitat corridor. In the water, the project is reintroducing several fish species back into the river, including native trout.

“For over 40 years, The Greenway Foundation mission has been to maximize the environmental and recreational health of the South Platte River,” said The Greenway Foundation Executive Director, Ryan Aids, “For us, The River Mile is a gamechanger.”

"The River Mile plan in Downtown Denver brings together a healthy balance of developing a more populated riverfront with a restored river corridor,” said Wenk Vice-President, Greg Dorolek. “I hope the River Mile WEDG certification provides inspiration to City leaders to follow through with the larger vision to restore the South Platte River through all of Denver.”

A vision for a clean, healthy, and inviting river for community members to enjoy, The River Mile project will open as a completely public space. The design team creates physical and visual connections to the water’s edge, including ADA access, walking trails, overlooks, and new lawn spaces for respite. There will also be opportunities to directly interact with the water through multiple get downs, three fishing access points, and a kayak boat launch.

“The pillars of WEDG – resilience, ecology, and access – are all central to The River Mile’s goal of restoring a whole ecosystem,” said Waterfront Alliance Chief Waterfront Design Officer, Joseph Sutkowi. “Waterfront Alliance commends the project team’s diligent efforts to create new opportunities for plant and animal habitats, and for residents to directly connect with the river.”

"The River Mile shows how innovative engineering can restore a river while shaping the future of a city,” said Calibre Engineering Project Manager, Ben Murphy. “By reducing flood risks and revitalizing the South Platte, we’re creating a place people want to gather — one that strengthens community, supports the ecosystem, and sparks new opportunities for development."

WEDG Verification is only awarded to projects that successfully pass a technical review of the project’s design against WEDG standards. External specialists in engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture determined that the project exceeded the requirements for WEDG Verification, earning 151 out of 250 possible points in the standard (130 are needed to pass). In October 2023, the standard expanded to include inland rivers and lakes.

Waterfront Alliance commends The River Mile on its achievement of WEDG Verification and recognizes the comprehensive efforts of the project team, including:

• Kroenke Sports & Entertainment: developer
• Calibre Engineering: management/engineering/recreation
• Wenk: landscape architecture and stakeholder engagement
• River Works Ltd.: specialist river consultant
• Birch Ecology: ecology and restoration
• S2O Design and Engineering: hydraulics and recreation
• OTAK: structural engineer
• Black Creek Hydrology, LLC: geomorphology
• Aztec Consultants: survey
• Ninyo & Moore: geotechnical engineer
• Ramboll U.S.: environmental engineer
• Goodbee & Associates, Inc.: utilities
• Turner Construction Company: construction management

You can learn more about the project and how it incorporated the principles of WEDG by joining the Waterfront Alliance’s webinar on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, from 12-1pm MT featuring Waterfront Alliance leadership, and project team members including Calibre Engineering and Wenk.

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The Waterfront Alliance is a nonprofit organization leading the way for thriving and resilient waterfronts, shorelines, and coastlines.

Attachments

• Credit: Wenk Landscape Architects
• Photo credit: Wenk Landscape Architects

Aria Cochran
Waterfront Alliance
2129359831
acochran@waterfrontalliance.org

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