Dallas' Second Deck Park Opens Next Month, Stitching Oak Cliff Back Together Over I-35

The deliberate ambition of Halperin Park, both in scope and civic intention, represents something of a reclamation for a stretch of southern Dallas that interstate construction carved apart more than 70 years ago. The five-acre bridge park spanning I-35E near the Dallas Zoo opens to the public on May 9. The park will include a playground, sprayground, amphitheater, and a two-story terrace with downtown skyline views, connecting neighborhoods long severed by the freeway.

"Our tagline is 'Park with a Purpose,' because it's about the green space, of course — but it's also about how we lift up a community that has not had the same level of interest, investment, or exposure as other parts of our city," said April Allen, president and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation.

The roughly $300 million public-private project opens just ahead of the World Cup, and represents only the first phase of a larger expansion. Allen sees the investment as both functional and symbolic. "To have a project like this just a mile and a half outside of downtown Dallas is meaningful. It sends a message to everyone that lives here — you matter to me."Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins, who toured the site, put it in blunter communal terms. "You can get 2,000 people listening to a concert here. It's going to be awesome."

A weekend-long grand opening celebration begins at 9 a.m., with music, food, and free family activities. Organizers are coordinating with the Dallas Zoo on parking.