An artist’s rendering shows The Park, which will soon cover Woodall Rogers Freeway in Downtown Dallas. (Photo courtesy of The Park)
By fall 2012, Dallas inhabitants will be connected to Uptown, Downtown and the Arts District by one central location: The Park.
Downtown Dallas’ current lofty, but eco-friendly, project is to create a grand metropolitan park that will match the stature of New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Publicly released by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation on Sunday, the official name of Dallas’ public green space will be Klyde Warren Park.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren decided to name the park after his 9-year-old son.
Jody Grant, chairman of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Board, announced publicly that Warren tremendously aided in creating Dallas traditions.
“A father naming the park after his son sends a strong message that this park will be a green oasis for all children to play, dream and learn,” Grant said. “We are honored to enter into this partnership with Kelcy and his family.”
Features of the Klyde Warren Park will undoubtedly be enjoyed by families, as well as others such as environmentalists and dog lovers alike.
Since its initial construction date in October 2009, a performance pavilion, restaurant, dog park, children’s park and walking trails have all been calculated for in the 5.2 acres the park encompasses.
Another compelling component of the Klyde Warren Park is the Arts Boulevard.
The object behind this region of the park is to create a welcoming Arts Terrace and Harwood Plaza, which eventually leads the way to the Dallas Arts District museums.
Jaquey Rodriquez, admission and information employee for the Crow Collection of Asian Art, said the museum anticipates a large increase of visitors.
“The Crow has pushed their hours later to accommodate future guests from the park,” Rodriguez said. “We think the Crow will be extra attractive because it is free and open to the public.”
One of the most intriguing, yet questionable, characteristics of Klyde Warren Park is its construction overtop of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets.
With a concrete base, trenches will be designed to allow tree growth. As far as the grass, there will be 40,000 square feet of lawn and 12 inches of topsoil.
Ali Akbar, information employee at the Dallas Museum of Art, believes the park is essential for Dallas’ environment.
“Besides the garden within the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas is all concrete. We need a large green garden within the city,” Akbar said.
The pro-environmental park will have many LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design factors.
It will use LEED lighting, conserving approximately 94,000 kilowatts of energy per year, in addition to a high-efficiency capillary irrigation system that will be dispersed over 80 percent of the park.
Public transportation is another aspect that is both environmentally sound and enjoyable for park visitors.
Parkgoers can travel to the central locations via trolley rides, bike routes on the Katy Trail or DART rail services.
This park predicts these modes of transportation will aid the central connectivity of the park, as well as environmental awareness.
The Klyde Warren Park will be owned by the City of Dallas and the extensive maintenance will be managed privately by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. The park will therefore be a public and private partnership.
Other construction projects — such as the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science opening in 2013 and the Museum Tower apartments’ completion in 2012 — allow the Klyde Warren Park launch to establish a beneficial downtown collaboration.
Klyde Warren Park exhibits a 24-hour web cam to show the construction and cultural growth.
President of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation Linda Owen said during the Park’s primary public release, “The park will be a joyful and memorable gathering place and will reflect the bold collaboration of people from throughout our region to create a public asset for the entire community.”
