Dallas Zoo. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
The Dallas Zoo held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday morning for a new parking garage that will drastically improve parking options for visitors and will connect to the future Southern Gateway Park.
This is the first project under construction from what is a multi-phased master plan for the Dallas Zoo. The zoo and its partners will turn an overflow parking lot into a 4-level, almost 600-car garage that will provide much-needed parking relief for the zoo and surrounding areas.
The garage will add critical parking volume for the zoo, increasing its capacity by approximately 50% over its existing 1,200 parking spaces. The zoo fills its surface lot parking capacity on average of at least 75 days per year.
This $16 million project commences with construction starting this summer, and the garage is anticipated to be completed for guest use by summer 2025.
“The construction of this garage marks a significant milestone for the Dallas Zoo,” said Dallas Zoo CEO Lisa New. “Not only will it provide much-needed parking for our guests, but it also represents our commitment to enhancing the overall experience for visitors to the zoo, and our soon-to-be neighbors, Southern Gateway Park. With this new parking structure, we will be better equipped to welcome even more guests.”
In addition to the garage structure, this project includes pedestrian connection points that stretch from the garage itself, around the DART station and into the zoo, and eventually along Ewing Ave. and up to the Southern Gateway Deck Park.
The new garage will be located at 727 S. Ewing Ave.
