The Dallas City Council has approved $8 million for Halperin Park, which will bridge two communities in Oak Cliff.
The Dallas council approved $8 million for phase one of Halperin Park, which sits just north of the Dallas Zoo, on January 28. The space will reach over the top of I-35, reconnecting two Oak Cliff neighborhoods separated by the interstate’s construction.
“This transformative project connects District 1 and District 4,” said Councilman Chad West in the meeting. “We have an opportunity to show Dallas commitment to providing green space to underserved communities.”
This will be Dallas’ second “deck park,” and reconnect two neighborhoods in Oak Cliff that were separated by I-35’s construction, according to West. Per architecture firm SWA Group, when officials planned the interstate there in the 1950s, they divided a “thriving black community,” cutting off historic Tenth Street Freedman’s Town from the rest of the area.
The $8 million will go to the park’s developer, the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, for the phase-one plaza, according to the resolution. Of the total funding, nearly $7 million comes from the Oak Cliff Gateway Tax Increment Financing District, and just over $1 million comes from the 2012 General Obligation Bond Program.
“No general fund dollars are being requested,” West said. “It’s worth noting that this public investment from TIF and bond will pay itself back in the years to come, as increased investment will help revitalize the area and spur economic growth.”
Approving this funding was “critical” to keep the park on schedule to open in the coming months, West said. According to the park’s website, officials expect the park to open in “early 2026.”
District 4 Councilman Maxie Johnson said he agreed with West, who represents District 1.
The Halperin family gifted $23 million for the project in 2024, as The Dallas Express reported. In April 2025, Dallas officials, foundation leaders, and members of the Halperin Foundation officially renamed the space from Southern Gateway Park to Halperin Park.
Construction on the park began in 2024. The two-story park will create more than five acres of new urban green space and span I-35 between Ewing Avenue and Marsalis Avenue just north of the Dallas Zoo.
Officials designed this park with a “deck” to support the same infrastructure as Klyde Warren Park, which stretches over Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas. Park planners also hope it will improve what they call “generational poverty,” reversing some effects of segregation and spurring investment in nearby neighborhoods.
