Dallas City Council Approves Fair Park 'Community Park' Project

The $40 million project will transform a parking lot into green space and community amenities.

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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The Dallas City Council voted unanimously to authorize the City Manager and Park and Recreation Board to execute an agreement with Fair Park First to design, fundraise, and construct a new 10-acre community park at Fair Park. The park will replace Parking Lot #10 and is part of efforts to right historical wrongs from the 1960s and 1970s when homes were demolished to expand Fair Park's parking.

Why it matters

The new community park is seen as a way to address the displacement of residents that occurred decades ago when the city used eminent domain to tear down homes and expand Fair Park's parking lots. The project has broad community support and is viewed as an opportunity to create green space and amenities that will benefit the surrounding South Dallas neighborhood.

The details

Under the agreement, Fair Park First will be responsible for raising the estimated $40 million needed for the project and completing the design within six months. City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who has championed the project, says 90% of the funding has already been secured through state, federal, and private sources.

  • In the 1960s and 1970s, the City of Dallas used eminent domain to tear down homes in the neighborhood to expand Fair Park's parking lots.
  • On February 26, 2026, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to authorize the community park project.

The players

Eva Jones

President of the Queen City Neighborhood Association, who remembers seeing residents forced out of their homes to make way for the current parking lots and welcomes this new chapter.

Adam Bazaldua

Dallas City Council member who has championed the community park project, saying it is "morally necessary" to right historical wrongs.

Fair Park First (FPF)

The organization that will be responsible for raising funds, completing the design, and constructing the new 10-acre community park.

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What they’re saying

“It should not only be a great day for my community it should be a great day for Dallas, Texas.”

— Eva Jones, President, Queen City Neighborhood Association

“We cannot rewrite that history, but today we wrote a new chapter to its story. I am grateful for the community leaders and elected officials who stepped up and said this is our responsibility, who championed this project not because it was politically convenient but because it was morally necessary.”

— Adam Bazaldua, Dallas City Council Member

“It's time to make good on a promise.”

— Veletta Forsythe-Lill, Fair Park First

What’s next

Fair Park First must raise the remaining 10% of the estimated $40 million budget and complete the park's design within six months of the agreement's execution.

The takeaway

The new community park at Fair Park represents an effort to right historical wrongs and provide much-needed green space and amenities for the surrounding South Dallas neighborhood. The project has broad community support and is seen as an important step in addressing the displacement that occurred decades ago when homes were demolished to expand the park's parking lots.