The Dallas City Council has made a decisive move to back the Halperin Park Plaza's completion, greenlighting a pretty penny—up to $8 million—to wrap up its first phase. Just for context, this isn't your ordinary park. We're talking about a five-acre stretch of urban green hovering over IH-35 East, like a grassy bridge from Marsalis Avenue to Ewing Avenue, and right by the Dallas Zoo.
In what could just turn into the city's next big thing, the plaza's being pieced together in two chunks. Phase I is the stretch between Ewing Avenue and Lancaster Avenue, and it's nearly there, clocking in at an impressive 85% completion. To fully cross the Phase I finish line, the city council votes to split the bill: $6.96 million from the Oak Cliff Gateway TIF District, and another $1,035,802 from the 2012 Bond Program (Proposition 3). Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson is the one who suggested that the bond funds, which are apparently pretty flexible, should be funneled into this project.
According to Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, per the City of Dallas, "Working together, this public-private partnership will help bridge Oak Cliff neighborhoods near the Dallas Zoo." Bizor Tolbert confidently adds, "When completed, Halperin Park will be a landmark City park and a community asset for the southern sector of Dallas while catalyzing economic development in the area."
The deck structure where the park plaza will sit has its foundations, thanks to the Texas Department of Transportation, with major financial backing from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation is steering the development and has also been actively seeking private funds. And let's not forget the hefty $23 million thrown into the pot by the Halperin Foundation. With such substantial backing and city commitment, this plaza is expected to swiftly become a landmark park following its completion this spring. Klyde Warren Park better watch out—it's not going to be the only deck park in town.
