Dallas’ Floating Oasis Above a Concrete Desert

Like a floating oasis rising above a concrete desert, the Klyde Warren Park stands firmly above the congested Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the heart of Dallas. From the vantage point of a car, it is unremarkable and looks like any other short tunnel one would encounter on a typical highway. At street level, however, it offers relief from the high-rises and concrete of a dense urban city.

Construction on this 5-acre, $110M project began in 2009 and was complete by October 2012. Funding came from a combination of public and private monies. The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation manages the park and its many activations. According to a summary filed with the Federal Highway Administration, it has had a $2.5B economic impact on Dallas.

With the combination of permanent attractions and pop-up activities, such as food trucks, Klyde Warren Park appeals to all ages and groups.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]To get a flavor for some of Klyde Warren’s excellent year-round programming and activations, watch the video produced by their official television partner. https://vimeo.com/382218490[/dropshadowbox]

To bolster its utility and sustainability, a 1.5-acre expansion is planned for 2024. The FHA summary indicates that this expansion includes,

a three-story, enclosed special events pavilion that will contain a café, rooftop deck, and special events ballroom to provide ongoing financial support for the park. The pavilion will offer space for a single ground-floor tenant and will serve as a gateway into the city. Additional plans for the pavilion include a 36,000-square foot multi-use green space for markets, festivals, and recreation.”

Leaders across America should look to Dallas and this park as they consider improvements to infrastructure. This type of project reconnects neighborhoods split by freeways. Klyde Warren Park is a great example of how to turn fallow, public air-rights into something of societal value.

Author Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

Comments

2 responses to “Dallas’ Floating Oasis Above a Concrete Desert”

  1. Jerry Laufer Avatar
    Jerry Laufer

    We have a park like this in Phoenix – https://tinyurl.com/y62zq4dn and https://tinyurl.com/yypva8c5 – Here is the tunnel below the park – https://tinyurl.com/yy46q5g2

    1. Ken Pyle, Managing Editor Avatar

      Jerry, I hadn’t seen that “cap”. Thanks for the references as well. They led to this excellent report from 2017 justifying the $100M renovation that is currently underway https://www.phoenix.gov/parkssite/Documents/HanceParkEconomicImpactAnalysis.pdf. That report references Klyde Warren, as well as Chicago’s Millenium Park (which is built over a railyard).

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