Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced Wednesday the city is acquiring the former Park Hill Golf Course in a land swap deal.

Denver will acquire the former Park Hill Golf Course in an unprecedented land swap deal that will give the city its fourth largest park, Mayor Mike Johnston said Wednesday. Why it matters: The move all but settles a longstanding fight between those who wanted development on the site and those wishing to keep it as open space.

Sources say Denver is acquiring the former Park Hill Golf Course in a deal and plans to turn it into a park and open space.

CBS News Colorado has learned the City of Denver and the owner of the former Park Hill Golf Course property are attempting to wrap up a land swap agreement that would allow Denver to take back control of the controversial 155 acre property.

Johnston said the deal involves an internal transfer of about $12.7 million from Denver Parks and Recreation, using the Parks Legacy Fund, to the city-owned Denver International Airport to secure the land for the trade. The deal with Westside is a pure swap and does not include any extra cash.

Denver acquires the 155-acre Park Hill Golf Course to transform it into one of the city’s largest urban parks, set to open this summer.

After years of controversy over Park Hill Golf Course, the vast piece of undeveloped land in northeast Denver is set to open to the public as a park this summer under the terms of a deal announced Wednesday by city officials.

The 155-acre land of the Park Hill Golf Course has been sitting empty since the course closed in 2018 and soon it will have a new life as a city park.

A developer and Denver reach a deal to resolve the future of land at the heart of a controversial development proposal.