Bear Creek Pavilion: Building a New Stage for Evergreen

There’s something special about live music in the Colorado mountains. The fresh air, beautiful scenery, and opportunity to gather with neighbors make outdoor concerts a favorite Evergreen tradition. Now, a new community space is taking shape at Buchanan Park!

EVstudio is proud to partner with Evergreen Park & Recreation District (EPRD) on the new Buchanan Park Pavilion, officially named Bear Creek Pavilion, presented by the Michael E. McGoldrick Foundation. As a key component of the comprehensive Buchanan Park redevelopment, this venue will create a permanent home for outdoor performances, celebrations, and community gatherings.

Our EVstudio team has brought together architectural design, structural engineering, electrical engineering, and civil engineering to help make this community vision a reality. With its orientation framing the iconic Bergen Peak, the pavilion will offer a backdrop that’s uniquely Evergreen.

A New Gathering Place for the Evergreen Community

The Buchanan Park Pavilion is designed to be much more than an outdoor stage. It will become a flexible community asset, supporting both large public events and smaller private gatherings.

The open-air, 2,250-square-foot pavilion will serve as a primary venue for Evergreen’s outdoor music events. Additionally, community members will be able to reserve the space for public and private events.

The venue is designed to accommodate a variety of activities, from live music and performing arts to celebrations and community programming.

A Meaningful Name for a Community Gathering Place

The pavilion’s official name, Bear Creek Pavilion, presented by the Michael E. McGoldrick Foundation, carries a special connection to the Evergreen community.

According to EPRD’s May 2026 newsletter, the Michael E. McGoldrick Foundation stepped forward as the naming sponsor, honoring Michael’s love of music and fishing in Bear Creek.

It’s a fitting tribute for a space designed to celebrate music, the outdoors, and community connection. The foundation’s support is an important part of bringing this new gathering place to life.

The sponsorship also highlights the role that donors and community supporters play in making projects like this possible.

Designed for Flexibility

According to EPRD’s Buchanan Park improvement plans, the pavilion will include house lighting and ample electrical connections for flexible audio, visual, and lighting configurations.

These features allow the space to adapt to different performances and event needs. More importantly, they help create a venue that can continue serving Evergreen as its community programming evolves.

By investing in a permanent performance space, EPRD is creating new opportunities for residents to connect through music, creativity, and shared experiences.

Mass Timber Design Meets Mountain Architecture

One of the Buchanan Park Pavilion’s defining architectural features is its mass timber roof structure. The design incorporates cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof panels supported by glue-laminated timber (glulam) trusses, creating an exposed structural system that celebrates the natural character of wood.

These engineered timber components provide structural strength while contributing to the pavilion’s warm, welcoming appearance.

Supporting the roof are board-formed concrete walls, which introduce texture and contrast. Their natural surface pattern complements the exposed wood and helps ground the structure within its mountain surroundings.

Framing the Beauty of Bergen Peak

Perhaps one of the most memorable design decisions was the pavilion’s orientation on the site. Led Dean Dalvit, AIA and P.E., and Brian Welch, P.E., EVstudio’s site design work helped integrate the pavilion into the surrounding park. The design team intentionally oriented the structure to frame Bergen Peak, one of Evergreen’s recognizable mountain landmarks.

This thoughtful placement creates a visual connection between the performance space and the surrounding landscape. The result is a venue where architecture and nature work together. Whether guests are attending a concert or gathering for a special event, the mountain setting becomes part of the experience.

EVstudio’s Multidisciplinary Approach

Creating a successful outdoor performance venue requires more than an attractive design. Architecture and engineering must work together to create a space that’s functional, durable, and welcoming. That’s where EVstudio’s integrated design approach makes a difference.

EVstudio proudly provided architectural design, structural engineering, electrical engineering, and civil engineering services for the Buchanan Park Pavilion. Our in-house teams collaborated throughout the project, coordinating the many elements that bring this community space to life.

The EVstudio Team Behind the Design

The project brought together several EVstudio leaders, each contributing expertise to different aspects of the pavilion.

• Dean Dalvit, Founder of EVstudio, developed the initial architectural concepts, helping establish the vision for the pavilion and its connection to the Evergreen community.
• Jeff Scott, R.A., Project Architect, led the architectural development of the project, helping translate those early concepts into a functional and welcoming outdoor venue.
• Katelyn Wager, P.E., Director of Structural Engineering, led the structural engineering design, including coordination of the pavilion’s distinctive structural elements.
• Brian Welch, P.E., Principal and Site Designer, led the site design, helping integrate the pavilion into Buchanan Park while considering its relationship to the surrounding landscape and park improvements.

Together with EVstudio’s electrical and civil engineering teams, these professionals helped turn the initial vision into a coordinated design.

Engineering a Distinctive Mass Timber Roof

One of the project’s most distinctive features is its mass timber roof, which combines CLT panels with glulam trusses. Under Katelyn Wager’s structural engineering leadership, EVstudio partnered with Lam-Wood Systems on the roof’s engineering, bringing specialized timber expertise to this important architectural element.

The pavilion’s board-formed concrete walls, electrical infrastructure, and site improvements also required close coordination between disciplines.

By working together, our team helped bring EPRD’s vision to life while addressing the technical challenges of a unique outdoor performance venue.

We’re grateful to Lam-Wood Systems for their collaboration and to the entire project team for helping create a space the Evergreen community can enjoy for generations.

Continuing a Longstanding Partnership with EPRD

The Buchanan Park Pavilion represents another chapter in EVstudio’s relationship with Evergreen Park & Recreation District.

Since 2017, EVstudio has partnered with EPRD on numerous projects, including campus planning, structural renovations, MEP improvements, and accessibility upgrades. Our work together has included improvements at Evergreen recreation facilities, athletic fields, and public spaces.

A History of Community-Focused Projects

Some of our previous work with EPRD includes:

• Evergreen Elevated Trail: EVstudio designed foundations and structural components for a pedestrian connection linking downtown Evergreen to Evergreen Lake and the surrounding trail network. The project also required coordination with multiple agencies and community stakeholders.
• Marshdale Park: Our team helped improve this popular outdoor recreation facility through athletic field upgrades, site development, and creative seating solutions that responded to the property’s sloped terrain.
• Stagecoach Field: EVstudio collaborated with EPRD on recreational improvements focused on creating an inviting outdoor space for the Evergreen community.
• Evergreen Recreation Facility Improvements: Our team has supported facility renovations, accessibility enhancements, and infrastructure upgrades at EPRD properties.

Each project reflects a shared goal: creating practical, engaging spaces that improve the community’s recreational opportunities.

For EVstudio, this partnership is particularly meaningful. Our firm began in Evergreen, and helping shape the community where our story started remains a source of pride.

A Personal Connection to the Buchanan Park Pavilion

For EVstudio Founder Dean Dalvit, the Buchanan Park Pavilion represents both a professional milestone and a personal connection to the Evergreen community.

Having developed the initial architectural concepts, Dean helped establish the early vision for a venue that will bring residents together through music, celebrations, and shared experiences. Jeff Scott, R.A., subsequently served as the project’s architect, helping carry that vision forward alongside EVstudio’s multidisciplinary team.

Reflecting on the project and the people who made it possible, Dean shared:

“It’s difficult to put into words what an honor it has been to help bring the Buchanan Pavilion to life. As the original architect on the project, I’m incredibly proud of what this space represents, not just as a building, but as a gathering place for the Evergreen community. Projects like this only happen because of exceptional teamwork, and we’re grateful for the dedication of the entire team at EVstudio, EPRD, our consultants, contractors, donors, and community supporters who helped make it a reality.

EVstudio has been fortunate to partner with EPRD for many years on projects that strengthen our community, and the Buchanan Pavilion is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when people come together around a shared vision.

On a personal note, it’s especially meaningful to be performing with The Midday Sons at the ribbon cutting in a space I had the privilege to help design. I look forward to seeing the Pavilion serve generations of Evergreen residents for years to come.”

— Dean Dalvit, Founder, EVstudio

Dean’s words capture what makes community-focused projects so rewarding. Beyond the architecture and engineering, the pavilion represents years of collaboration and a shared commitment to Evergreen’s future.

Part of a Bigger Vision for Buchanan Park

The new pavilion is one piece of EPRD’s broader Buchanan Park redevelopment. The comprehensive improvement plan aims to expand recreation opportunities, improve accessibility, and create more welcoming spaces for visitors of all ages.

Other planned improvements include an expanded aquatics facility, an all-abilities adventure playground, an all-wheels park, accessible pathways, and additional community gathering spaces.

EVstudio is also involved in the Buchanan Park pool expansion, another multidisciplinary project within this larger transformation.

Together, these investments will help make Buchanan Park an even more valuable destination for Evergreen residents.

Celebrating the Pavilion’s Opening with Live Music

What better way to celebrate a new outdoor performance space than with live music?

In a particularly meaningful full-circle moment, Dean Dalvit plans to perform with The Midday Sons at the Buchanan Park Pavilion ribbon cutting, bringing together two of his passions: architecture and music.

The Midday Sons are an Evergreen-based band performing Americana, alternative country, and rock. Their involvement makes this celebration especially memorable for the EVstudio team.

The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Saturday, November 14th from 1:00pm-3:00pm. Presentations and ribbon cutting between 1:00-1:30 with music afterwards, and it is open to the public. For more event information, visit Evergreen Park & Recreation District.

Building Spaces That Bring People Together

Great community spaces do more than serve a practical purpose. They create opportunities for connection, shared experiences, and lasting memories.

The Buchanan Park Pavilion brings that vision to life through thoughtful architecture, multidisciplinary engineering, and a design that celebrates Evergreen’s natural surroundings.

We’re grateful for our continued partnership with EPRD and proud to contribute to the future of Buchanan Park. We’re equally grateful to the Michael E. McGoldrick Foundation, Lam-Wood Systems, and the many project partners and community supporters helping bring this space to life.

And when the first notes ring out beneath that mass timber roof, it will mark more than the opening of a new venue. It will celebrate the collective efforts of everyone who helped bring this community vision to life.

Interested in creating a community space that brings people together? Explore EVstudio’s Parks & Recreation projects or contact our team to learn how our integrated architecture and engineering services can bring your next project to life.