SWA has unveiled the design, undertaken with HKS, for a major urban infrastructure project which seeks to reconnect a historically Black neighborhood in South Dallas. The Southern Gateway Public Green comprises a five-acre park in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, built to reconnect a community that was divided by highway construction in the 1950s.

The park will be delivered in two phases, with infrastructure currently under construction to ‘cap’ the highway to allow the landscape to be built overhead. The finished scheme will feature event spaces, a market-style dining and retail area, and lawns.

“SWA’s design was based on public feedback and reflects the neighboring communities that will benefit from it on a daily basis—communities that historically haven’t gotten a lot of say in what happens to them,” the firm said about the scheme. “It will also be home to a variety of native plants and trees, as well as educational exhibits about the history of the neighborhood.”

The park is being built through a public-private partnership between the City of Dallas, the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, and private donors, with support from private donations and federal, state, and local grants. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

News of the scheme comes weeks after SWA unveiled plans for a new 1200-acre park in Irvine, California. The firm was also involved in the development of parks for the nonprofit Parks for Downtown Dallas, which recently received the 2023 AIA Collaborative Achievement Award.