Halperin Park

Halperin Park is a transformational deck park spanning Interstate 35E adjacent to the Dallas Zoo, designed to reconnect the Oak Cliff community long divided by highway infrastructure constructed in the 1950s. Built atop a structural deck over the interstate between Ewing and Marsalis Avenues, the park restores pedestrian connectivity while creating a significant new civic green space for Southern Dallas.

Delivered through a public-private partnership led by the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation in collaboration with the City of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation, the project represents years of planning, advocacy, and community engagement focused on creating a public space rooted in equity, accessibility, and neighborhood identity.

As the landscape contractor for the project, our team worked closely with the broader project team to help deliver this highly technical and deeply community-centered landscape. Constructing a park atop an active interstate required extensive coordination and precision across soils, drainage, structural limitations, irrigation, grading, planting, and long-term landscape performance considerations.

The park’s design draws inspiration from the geology and cultural history of Oak Cliff, incorporating sculptural landforms, shaded gathering spaces, native and adaptive planting, overlooks, event lawns, promenades, water features, and community-focused public spaces throughout the site. A strong emphasis was placed on creating comfortable outdoor environments through extensive tree canopy, layered planting, and pedestrian-scaled landscape experiences.

Key features throughout the park include:

• Large-scale lawn and gathering spaces
• Extensive tree planting and custom soil systems
• Irrigation infrastructure
• Shaded plazas and seating areas
• Landscape areas integrated with structural deck conditions
• Native and adaptive planting palettes
• Pedestrian promenades and circulation corridors
• Gardens and play spaces designed for everyday community use

Due to the unique nature of deck park construction, the landscape scope required careful integration between structural loading requirements, soil depths, drainage systems, and horticultural performance. Every aspect of the landscape installation demanded close coordination between the design team, engineers, contractors, and specialty trades to ensure the park would perform successfully long-term.

More than a park, Halperin Park represents an investment in reconnection, public health, economic opportunity, and community identity. Designed as both a regional destination and an everyday neighborhood gathering space, the project demonstrates how landscape architecture and infrastructure can work together to repair historic divisions and create meaningful civic space for future generations.

Today, Halperin Park stands as one of the most significant public realm projects in Southern Dallas — a landscape built not only to provide beauty and recreation, but to help reconnect a community through thoughtful design and construction.

Landscape Design by SWA Group.