DALLAS — While the overlook of downtown Dallas from the Trinity River Corridor draws attention, there's one area near the corridor that many believe is overlooked.
“It’s been neglected,” said Linnea Glatt, a West Dallas resident.
Glatt and her husband, Jim, have lived and worked in West Dallas for 40 years. “It’s been a long while and lots of changes we’ve seen,” said Glatt.
The most recent change is probably the biggest.
Tuesday was demolition day at Harold Simmons Park, which is a 250-acre park connecting downtown to West and South Dallas including the Trinity River Corridor. The West Overlook, a 22-acre park, is getting a $325 million makeover.
“I don’t know if anyone thought it would be this grand,” said Glatt. “Jim recorded the news last night, you know, about this project and sent it to the kids and they were like, ‘Wow, I can't believe that that's happening.’”
The West Overlook will get six 40-foot playground towers, a skate and bike park, and a ferry pond.
“A long time ago, preindustrial Dallas, the way to get across the Trinity, they actually had ferries that would take you across. It's kind of a playful reimagining of that system,” said Jim Shipley, Senior Project Manager of Beck Group.
The water will be cleaned by a natural wetland system. “The Trinity Park Conservancy is building really to get folks to be able to get into the Trinity levee system to experience the river connecting with nature is really their goal,” said Shipley.
Renderings for the West Overlook at Harold Simmons Park
Dallas City Councilman Omar Narvaez said from the greenspace, they will add a land bridge connecting to the old industrial shed that will be renovated for events. “It's not forgetting anything of our past but definitely looking forward to our future,” said Narvaez.
Councilman Narvaez said the national goal is to have parks within 10 minutes of neighborhoods. This helps Dallas get closer to meeting that goal on a local level. “It helps our mental health. I tell people, we talk about arts and culture all the time. Parks are cultural centers,” said Narvaez.
This first demolition is phase one with the project expected to be completed in about three years. While it’s another wait for residents, some said it’s worth it. “When things start happening as they've happened today, then it becomes very real,” said Glatt.
It’s an overlook that’s finally coming into view.