Artist renderings of the 14-acre park show a dynamic green space lined with elm and sycamore trees.
Two open green spaces are complemented by playgrounds, a lookout tower, vendor space and a stage.
The designs created by California-based Studio-MLA are the latest steps in the process to create a public space for surrounding neighborhoods in South Dallas. Once completed, the park will be open year-round.
Brain Luallen is CEO of Fair Park First, which is leading the project. He says the studio designed a “prairie wonderland” that will be a place for a variety of public events.
“[It’s] the sort of Blackland Prairie ecosystem and geography that would have been here prior to development and interweaving the unique personality of sunny South Dallas in a way that feels completely authentic, definitely of North Texas,” Luallen said.
The park will be located on what was once the site of a South Dallas neighborhood of over 360 homes. They were torn down to make room for parking space which currently sits between Fitzhugh and Pennsylvania Avenues.
Luallen says the park offers a chance to right past wrongs.
“That displacement loomed large, and it certainly left a very large scar in the surrounding community, but the idea of a healing gathering place has always been at the forefront of people's minds,” Luallen said.
Luallen said Fair Park First will work with the community to establish a name for the park that resonates with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Construction is set to begin in early 2023 with an anticipated opening date in late 2024.
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