Remember Civic Center?

Of course you do: It's the city's civic heart, a place that will attract dialogue and discourse during the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

The park itself has been a flash point for lengthy debate during the past several years. But things have been so quiet this summer - at least that seems the case after summer 2006, when the city was abuzz over Daniel Libeskind's "concepts" for Civic Center. During summer 2007 the Colorado Historical Society created discussion while its board eyed Civic Center as the site for a new museum.

Now the work is mainly putting pen to paper, as the city drafts a document that really should have come first: design guidelines for Civic Center.

Call it the cart before the horse, since having a set of standards as reference might have made the debates over Libeskind's many architectural elements or the historical society's building size a bit less, well, contentious.

But funding finally became available to develop guidelines; a group of interested citizens began meeting last spring. The most recent presentation was June 26, by consultant Tina Bishop, of Mundus Bishop Design Inc., and Helen Kuykendall, longtime Civic Center and City Park project manager, who's leaving the Denver Parks and Recreation Department after nine years.

Kuykendall is moving out of town, and a newcomer to the department, Mark Bernstein, is taking over as Civic Center project manager.

The guidelines will be crucial in helping the city make $9.5 million worth of restoration work and repairs in key areas of Civic Center: the Greek Theater, Voorhies Memorial, and the Broadway Terrace area. Unfortunately, the estimated $14.5 million to $20 million needed to rehab the McNichols Building was not in the fall 2007 bond package. Restoring its interior and exterior to their historic appearance will need to wait on a mix of private and public funds, Kuykendall said.

As it stands, the draft Civic Center guidelines posted on the city's Web site are a work in progress, though officials are taking comments through Aug. 28. The guidelines still need to be fleshed out and refined.

The first step is taking the proposals to the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission, which is on the agenda for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The guidelines include suggestions on connecting Civic Center to other parts of the city, materials that will work there in building or rehab projects, and the need to keep human scale in mind in any additions. There may not be money to fix up the McNichols Building and make it more public, but recommendations are in this report.

Much of the information is related to four areas where new development can take place, three of which stem from the 2005 Civic Center Master Plan.

* Broadway Terrace area: bring tree groves back to their original look, clear new paths and seating, install informational kiosks.

* Central Gathering Area: in the middle of the park, linking the north-south axis between downtown and the cultural area, with the east-west axis between the City and County Building and the state Capitol. The word "major" comes into play here.

* South Garden: for years called the Festival Garden, now perceived as a three-dimensional structured garden space equal in mass and scale to the McNichols Building. The change in terms makes sense - Festival Garden always sounded like a place for women in poufy blouses to serve large steins of beer - but the descriptions and graphics still call a building to mind.

* Canopy for the Greek Theater: which should be subordinate to the theater itself, transparent (though steel is termed an appropriate material) and potentially retractable. Yes, it rains in Denver, and those who want to organize more performances want protection (as opposed to concert-goers at the Denver Botanic Gardens, I guess). But this was an unexpected inclusion in the guidelines that recalled the Libeskind concepts and should inspire more discussion.

As this document moves through the city pipeline, it's difficult not to wish that more repair and maintenance work were happening right now in a place that has so many people worried.

Granted, the Seal Pond has been painted, and the Civic Center Conservancy's weekly farmers' market attracts some people. And I'm sure some people figure it makes no sense to do much in Civic Center until the DNC crowds depart.

But Civic Center needs help, and to be saying that for a third summer is becoming more than ridiculous. Benign neglect breeds demolition, makes repairs more expensive and shows disrespect for a crucial part of Denver. It's time to move.

Mary Voelz Chandler is the art and architecture critic. Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

Guiding a design

* What: Guidelines for restoration and rehabilitation of elements in Civic Center, plus construction of new additions to the site

* Status: In draft form, available for public review and comment through Aug. 28

* Next presentation: Denver Landmark Preservation Commission meeting, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday

* Get your copy: denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/Planning_Design_and_Constr