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DALLAS - The Dallas City Council on Wednesday voted to approve spending up to $8 million in funding to complete the first phase of the plaza at Halperin Park. The Plaza will cover approximately five acres of the deck superstructure over IH 35 East (IH-35) from Marsalis Avenue to Ewing Avenue near the Dallas Zoo.
The Plaza is being designed and built in two phases. Phase I includes the area from Ewing Avenue to Lancaster Avenue. Phase II will include the area from Lancaster Avenue to Marsalis Avenue. Phase 1 of the Plaza is almost 85% completed.
The funding authorized by the city council will come from two sources: $6.96 million from Oak Cliff Gateway TIF District, and $1,035,802 from 2012 Bond Program (Proposition 3). The bond funds are considered “discretionary” and Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson requested those funds be used for the Plaza project.
“Working together, this public-private partnership will help bridge Oak Cliff neighborhoods near the Dallas Zoo,” said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. “When completed, Halperin Park will be a landmark City park and a community asset for the southern sector of Dallas while catalyzing economic development in the area,” Tolbert added.
The deck structure was built by the Texas Department of Transportation and primarily funded through the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation is the developer of the Plaza and has been involved in private fundraising efforts. The Halperin Foundation has committed $23 million to the park.
The first phase of the Halperin Park Plaza is scheduled to be completed in the Spring. This will be the second deck park in the city. Klyde Warren Park was the first.
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