A rendering of the future Southern Gateway Park.
On Dec. 23, the Southern Gateway Park received an early Christmas present.
The park is set to receive $7.75 million in federal funding as part of congress’s Omnibus Spending Bill, which is sending over $30 million to North Texas community projects.
“This is a major investment in Oak Cliff — and in the quality of life of the people of Dallas,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a tweet.Â
North Texas representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Colin Allred (TX-32) and Marc Veasey (TX-33) advocated for Dallas projects to be included in the bill. A full list of the projects covered by the bill can be found here.
The funding for Southern Gateway Park will be put towards the second phase of the park’s construction, the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation said.
“This is the first funding we have received for phase two of the park, and it represents a watershed moment for our project,” April Allen, president and chief operating officer of the foundation, said in a statement.
Southern Gateway Park will be Dallas’s second deck park, and is being built over I-35E adjacent to the Dallas Zoo between Ewing Avenue and Marsalis Avenue.
The first phase of the park will focus on completing the half of the park between Ewing Avenue and S Lancaster Avenue, while the second phase will open the park all the way to Marsalis Avenue.
According to the Southern Gateway Park’s website, the foundation is scheduled to break ground on the park’s amenities in 2023, and the park is slated to open in 2024.
