Halperin Park: A New Green Space in Southern Dallas
Above Interstate 35E in southern Dallas and across from the Dallas Zoo’s iconic giraffe sculpture, public leaders celebrated renaming Oak Cliff’s new deck park and helped plant the first trees on Earth Day.
The event marked the official renaming of what was once called Southern Gateway Park. It is now Halperin Park, following a $23 million contribution from the Halperin Foundation for the naming rights.
As a crew hammered and sawed at the park, and the Reveler’s Hall Band played, elected officials and city Park Board members got a peek at the growing construction project.
April Allen, President & CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, speaks during an Earth Day celebration at the newly named Halperin Park, in Dallas, Texas Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and David Halperin of the Halperin Foundation are in background. The park is set to open in spring of 2026.
Park Features and Amenities
The park was “putting down roots” Tuesday, both in the figurative and literal sense, said April Allen, president of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation. Allen, along with Mayor Eric Johnson and members of the Halperin family, shoveled dirt on the first of the trees at the site.
“This moment is about more than trees and green space,” Allen said. “It’s about growth, resilience and the enduring spirit of our community.”
Slated to open in spring 2026, the park is expected to come with more than 250 trees, along with a stage and pavilion for concerts, a playground and an interactive water feature, among other amenities. The park, situated between South Ewing and South Marsalis avenues, is expected to attract more than 2 million visitors annually.
History and Significance
When Interstate 35E was built, it sliced through the heart of Oak Cliff, disconnecting communities from downtown Dallas and bulldozing homes belonging to people of color. The new park is seen as a bridge between neighborhoods for Oak Cliff, and its impact will also likely be felt at the Tenth Street Historic District, one of the only remaining intact Freedmen’s Towns in the nation.
A model of the park is displayed during an Earth Day celebration at the newly named Halperin Park, in Dallas, Texas Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
Community Impact
Johnson said Tuesday that within just a year, the space had been built up, becoming more than concrete above the freeway, where he could see “a modern park beginning to take shape with the outlines of fountains, buildings and new gathering spaces all coming into view.”
“This park is bridging the gap between a community that was actually divided when this interstate was built, and bringing southern Dallas the much-deserved beauty and utility and opportunity that a modern park with so much forethought … can bring to a city,” Johnson said.
Halperin is the second deck park — after Klyde Warren Park — to be added to the city’s vision of expanding its park system.
Philanthropic Efforts
In September, the Dallas Park Board greenlit the Halperin Foundation’s donation, one of the largest investments in the southern Dallas park. The Halperins are known for their philanthropy work and Heritage Auctions. Allen said they have “played a transformational role in bringing this vision to life.”
“They understand and share our goals through this park, that it will catalyze a more connected, economically vibrant and greener Oak Cliff,” Allen said.
