“And give people hope,” April Allen said of the lid park over I-35 at S. Ewing and Marsalis that opens to the public this weekend.
DALLAS — The public-private partnership designed to stitch pieces of Oak Cliff and southern Dallas back together and provide an economic shot in the arm, culminated Thursday afternoon with a standing ovation for the woman who helped guide the project for the last seven years.
“Thank you, thank you,” April Allen said as a crowd cheered her arrival on stage at the new bandshell that sits over I-35 at the intersection of South Ewing Avenue.
“Welcome to Halperin Park,” said the President and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation.
A ceremonial ribbon-cutting Thursday celebrating the planned Saturday public opening of the lid park between S. Ewing and Marsalis. Phase One, at approximately 2.8 acres includes green space, a playground, a splash pad, amphitheater, indoor meeting spaces, room for food trucks and a circular drive for school bus arrivals and departures. And, as Allen will tell you, it also is a park with purpose.
“I do think we can be an example of how you create spaces like this in areas that may have been overlooked or forgotten. And really change that trajectory for the future,” Allen said.
The construction of I-35 in the 1950’s cut this area of Oak Cliff in two. From the very start, the idea of the project was to stitch the community back together with what will eventually be a more than 5-acre lid park offering outdoor recreation space, community revitalization, and an economic infusion. Studies suggest that, acting as an economic magnet, that Halperin Park could generate $1 billion in economic impact within its first five years as businesses grow on its periphery.
“And give people hope,” Allen said. “And restore some of the wounds that came from that division so many years ago. And we have the opportunity with this park to really shift that paradigm and change the trajectory and the future of Oak Cliff and our city overall.”
“I care way more about the people enjoying this place than my name ever being on the park itself,” said David Halperin of the Halperin Family Foundation, which donated $23 million to the project.
“I just want the people in this neighborhood to be enjoying it and using it as the proper amenity because honestly the people of this neighborhood enjoy, no, they deserve these amenities.”
Amenities that visitors to Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park have enjoyed for years at the lid park over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the heart of downtown Dallas. Now southern Dallas and Oak Cliff get their turn.
“And I think that’s going to give people a feel for what it means to live in this beautiful neighborhood that I love to call home,” Allen said.
Phase Two of the project, which is currently in the design and engineering stage, is expected to bring the park to a total of 5.3 acres, extend the entire park from S. Ewing all the way to Marsalis Avenue and include a dog park and connection to the Dallas Zoo.
A grand opening celebration is scheduled for 9 a.m., Saturday May 9th, with a variety of family-friendly events and performances scheduled throughout the entire day.