SOUTHERN GATEWAY PUBLIC GREEN FOUNDATION, DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCE ONE OF THE LARGEST PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS IN HISTORY OF DALLAS PARKS
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SOUTHERN GATEWAY PUBLIC GREEN FOUNDATION, DALLAS PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCE ONE OF THE LARGEST PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS IN HISTORY OF DALLAS PARKS
Halperin Foundation Commits $23 Million to Help Create Southern Dallas’ Transformational Bridge Park
(DALLAS) – Sept. 19, 2024 – The Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation today announced it has received a historic $23 million grant from the Halperin Foundation to complete phase one of the landmark bridge park currently under construction over Interstate 35E in Southern Dallas. This transformational gift will result in the future park, currently referred to as Southern Gateway Park, to be officially named Halperin Park.
According to April Allen, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, the gift represents a watershed moment for the project.
“This is one of the most significant private gifts in the history of our city’s park system,” she said. “It not only enables us to complete phase one construction, but it also unlocks an additional $7.5 million in challenge grants and supports the long-term sustainability of the park.”
Allen continued: “I’ve also had the pleasure of getting to know the Halperin family throughout the last year, and I’m incredibly grateful for their genuine commitment to our vision for Southern Dallas. I can’t think of a more fitting name for our future ‘park with a purpose.’”
Slated to open in 2026, the five-acre Halperin Park will be a key catalyst for closing the opportunity gap that was created when the highway was originally built in the 1950s through the middle of Oak Cliff. The park is a public/private partnership with the City of Dallas and the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, as well as significant support at the regional, state and federal level.
“This donation, by far the largest single gift in our foundation’s history, is profoundly meaningful to our family – and, more importantly, to a part of Dallas that has been overlooked and under-resourced for far too long,” said Jim Halperin, co-founder and co-chair of Heritage Auctions and President of The Halperin Foundation. “This donation will serve many purposes. It will use green space to reconnect communities long ago separated by a highway. It will help create a destination park for all of Dallas. And, I hope, it will inspire future generations of Halperins to give back to the city that has given them so much.”
With phase one funding complete and the park under construction, the Foundation hopes to open Halperin Park in early 2026. And earlier this year, the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation was able to secure $77 million from its government partners, providing essential funding for construction of the park’s phase two infrastructure. Visit the park’s website or follow the park on Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest updates.
About The Halperin Foundation
Founded in 1989, The Halperin Foundation supports nonprofits with a focus on the arts, health and education. It received the 2014 Sammons Center for the Arts Benefactor of the Year Award and the 2021 AIDS Interfaith Network Crystal Hope Award. Its gift in support of Halperin Park is the largest donation in its history.
About Halperin Park
Halperin Park (formerly known as Southern Gateway Park) is a five-acre bridge park spanning Interstate 35E between Ewing and Marsalis Avenues, directly adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. This “park with a purpose” will transform the city’s southern sector and be a key catalyst for closing the opportunity gap that was created when the highway was originally built in the 1950s through the middle of Oak Cliff. Once open, the park will attract an estimated 2 million visitors annually and generate more than $1 billion in economic impact in its first five years. In addition to native landscape and ample green space, park amenities will include: a stage and pavilion for concerts and live events, an inclusive children’s playground, outdoor classroom space, a multi-purpose building for dining and community events, integrated history exhibits, a dedicated food truck area, interactive water features, and so much more. Together with the Dallas Zoo’s Master Plan, the collective capital investment will exceed $250 million, the largest investment in Southern Dallas’ history.
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