With Community Park, Dallas aims to right historic wrongs

Catch up quick: In the 1960s, the city used eminent domain to raze houses in a historically Black and Hispanic neighborhood southeast of Fair Park.

• Instead of building a new park as promised, the city paved the area to create more parking space for people visiting the State Fair.

Details: The Community Park plans include gardens and nature walks, picnic tables, a dog park, a stage and amphitheater, two children’s playgrounds, a mist canopy and an observation tower with views of Downtown.

• Langworthy says designs for the play areas were inspired by the Blackland Prairies native to North Texas.

Of note: The groups building the park have asked for input from the surrounding community on both design and programming.

Yes, but: The nonprofit management group in charge of Fair Park’s operations, including Fair Park First, are still raising funds for the new park, which they hope to complete in 2024.

What they're saying: "The goal is to have a highly activated gathering space for the neighborhood and for the full city of Dallas, but there's a strong concentration on fulfilling the needs of the surrounding area," Langworthy says.

• "This is really going to be amazing."

What we're watching: The first cost estimates for the project will come in soon.