Earlier this week, workers broke ground on a new park set to open in northeast Dallas.
Construction began on December 18 on the Forest Audelia Village shopping center parking lot at Forest Lane and Audelia Road. Once complete, the one-acre park will feature a playground, multi-use sports courts, pavilions, and more, according to City officials. The site is located on the southern end of the shopping complex, facing Forest Lane.
The park is the initial phase of a larger multimillion-dollar project that will see Forest Audelia Village undergo renovation. The new space will include community amenities, like a library and fitness center.
In the past, Dallas Park and Recreation, together with Project Safe Neighborhood and the Better Block Foundation, ran a temporary “pop-up” park in the Forest-Audelia neighborhood, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
“We must bring more parks and public spaces to our neighborhoods, and I look forward to working closely with our Park Board President Arun Agarwal and our private partners to achieve that goal. Together, we can build a safer and more family-friendly Dallas,” Mayor Eric Johnson said in a press release announcing the pop-up park opening in 2021.
The new park taking shape at Forest Audelia Village is expected to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.
“They’re going to appreciate that the city has stepped in and going to create a positive experience in this entire complex for them. … We’re going to see kids playing, families playing,” said Dallas Park and Recreation director John Jenkins, per NBC. “We won’t see the negative element that was out here before.”
District 10 council member Kathy Stewart agrees with the sentiment. While the park is not large, she says it will have an immense impact on her district.
“This says we do care about what happens at Forest and Audelia,” Stewart said. “We’re not going to be just about enforcement, we’re also going to be about improving the quality of life.”