Buckley Park, downtown Durango’s favorite and only spot for outdoor festivals, concerts and just hanging outside on a nice day, appears to be headed for sale.

“It would be a shame if it went away,” said Tim Walsworth, director of the Durango Business Improvement District. “It’s a community gathering spot, and there’s nothing else like it anywhere close to downtown.”

Buckley Park, a 1½-acre field of open grass and trees between 12th Street and 13th Street on the east side of Main Avenue, is not, as many people assume, owned by the city of Durango.

Instead, the field is owned by Durango School District 9-R as part of a larger 4.3-acre property that includes the district’s administrative building at 201 E. 12th St.

The school district leased the park to the city of Durango in 2013 on a 10-year lease for $1,000 a year.

Recently, 9-R announced it is seeking the services of real estate brokers to recommend a listing price for the property, develop a marketing plan for its sale at a “local, regional and national level” and assist in showing the property to interested developers.

Real estate brokers have until Feb. 28 to submit their proposed plans of action. Then, the district’s Board of Education will decide whether to accept any of the submissions at its meeting March 24.

Shere Byrd, president of the Board of Education, said the district in recent years has identified millions of dollars’ worth of facility needs across its campuses. But funding those projects is a challenge for the district, which is considering putting a tax increase to voters this November.

Also, part of funding future facility needs is the consideration of rebuilding or selling current buildings and properties, she said.

“That’s why they are considering potentially selling the building (and Buckley Park) to offset the cost of the potential master plan,” Byrd said.

Byrd said developers in the past have shown interest in the property, but this most recent process makes the effort formal. She said the administration building is under-utilized and costly to maintain, making it a prime candidate for sale.

This process, Byrd stressed, is in the early stages, and nothing has been decided.

“Right now, what we’re doing is to more formally see if there’s any interest in the public for a purchaser,” she said. “We can only do that if we put it on the market.”

Buckley Park would be included in the sale, according to the district’s “request for proposals,” and it is unclear what would happen to the open space.

Julie Popp, spokeswoman for the district, wrote in an email to The Durango Herald: “It would be hard to reflect upon the potential impact on Buckley Park, as the district has not made any official decision about the potential sale of the property.

“... Those details would be details worked out in the sale, should that ever occur,” she said. “But as a district, we see the value of the building and the park to the community and would work to ensure it is a long-term asset for citizens regardless if we continue to own and maintain the property, or if it is sold for other community purposes.”

This is not the first time the future of Durango’s beloved Buckley Park has been thrown into the unknown.

The modest open space in the 1970s was once known as a spot for drug use, earning the moniker “Stoner Park.” Even so, its field over the years was an appreciated space for games, festivals, craft fairs and art shows – and just a place to see some green in downtown Durango.

But in the early 2000s, a serious local push began to revamp “Stoner Park” to make it more amenable to families and visitors. One proposal, headed by architect and current City Councilor Dean Brookie, sought to turn it into a paved plaza with a fountain.

Ultimately, those plans fell apart, said Duane Smith, a local historian who served as chairman of the city’s parks advisory board at the time. Instead, a more modest version, mostly as it is seen today, was chosen, he said.

Now, Buckley Park holds events nearly every week, sometimes multiple times a week, including the Summer Concert Series, the San Juan Brewfest, parts of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, Men Who Grill, Apple Days – and the list goes on.

Aside from organized happenings, the park is used year-round for reading or playing soccer on summer days, tossing a Frisbee under the fall foliage or sledding after a snowstorm.

“It’s a gem for our downtown,” Walsworth said. “There’s a lot of good community events, which is good for downtown and local causes. We really hope that venue will be maintained.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com