Looking toward downtown Dallas, a parade ushered in a new era for Oak Cliff atop Interstate 35E — one where the city’s newest deck park connects neighborhoods.

Halperin Park, which stretches across the highway near the Dallas Zoo, filled with neighboring parents, kids, dogs and cyclists as longtime community advocates gathered to see the mending of an area. The city’s new poet laureate, Black Ceasar, recalled the community’s history of resilience and also displacement.

“Allow this park to be a foundation or a blank page to tell our stories to the next generation,” he said at the end of his poem. “May it be a space that culture thrives as we keep alive the essence of what it means to be Dallas.”

When the highway was built in the ‘50s, it sliced through the heart of this area of Oak Cliff, bulldozing homes belonging to people of color. The park’s opening marks the completion of the first phase of the estimated $300 million public-private development. The structure is ultimately expected to cover the highway between South Ewing and South Marsalis avenues.

“Those of us who live here know how special and beautiful this neighborhood is,” said April Allen, president and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation. “We’re proud residents. We work hard. We know our neighbors, and we look out for each other, right? And we deserve world-class things right here in Oak Cliff.”

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The site follows Klyde Warren in Uptown, which opened in 2012, as the city’s second deck park.

On Saturday, neighbors from the east and west sides of Oak Cliff, West Dallas, and other neighborhoods gathered for kids’ activities, performances from area schools and local artists. State Rep. Venton Jones, who read a resolution, called it one of his biggest honors as an area resident.

“This is a community that I have spent my entire life in,” Jones said. “Now, we see a future that brings together assets that are needed to continue to make this community somewhere you can live, work and play.”

Visitors also heard from area council members Chad West and Maxie Johnson.

Johnson said, “This is what happens when we build the community with the community.”

For West, his family would personally enjoy the benefit of having a new “place to run around.”

“As a father of a 9-year-old and a 10-year-old, you have to burn off energy about every other hour,” West said.

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Kids took over the new playground.  They got drenched in the water features, had their faces painted or simply played with a soccer ball. Local businesses offered crafts.

Sitting in the shade beneath the park’s skywalk, which rises for visitors to take in views, Ryanne Knox read a book to 3-year-old Emerald Knox, who was tired after playing in one of the park’s water features.

“There’s so many things right now that are inaccessible for financial reasons,” Knox said, adding that it makes the park a fantastic option for families.

The city hasn’t always been kind to Oak Cliff, she said.

Chelsea Knox, her wife, said the opening day festivities were impressive, but she was waiting to see the long-term impact of the project.

It remains to be seen whether the park will deliver on the massive economic impact anticipated — an estimated $1 billion over the first five years, according to a preliminary analysis conducted by the University of North Texas at Dallas.

Read more Families happy to see southern Dallas gain Halperin Park, new deck park opening

Mayor Eric Johnson, who has championed parks, has said the park is expected to attract new investment for the area and raise the quality of life for southern Dallas residents. The opening drew sponsorship from Amazon, along with support from the Dallas Mavericks and several other organizations.

Over the years, the project has seen hope that its benefits will stretch into neglected neighborhoods, along with skepticism from those who fear gentrification.

The nearby Tenth Street neighborhood could feel the impact of the new investment. The former Freedman’s town has seen its historic structures dwindle in recent years.

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It was an emotional day for 88-year-old Bessie Slider Moody, who said she remembers when the highway was built. She said the park is a start towards repairing the damage.

“We can be more connected and feel better about our community,” she said.

After more than 10 years of community effort, Paul Carden was taking in the view of the fully activated park. He’s one of the people who advocated for the green space.

Carden, who grew up in the area, took photos as his son tugged on his arm to go play. When he got involved, he didn’t have kids and was a college student. Now he’s a developer.

“I wanted to help build a better community, a better version of one that I grew up in,” Carden said, “so that the next generation didn’t lack the things that we lacked.”

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.

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