DALLAS — The goal of the nonprofit Parks for Downtown Dallas and Dallas Park and Recreation is to create a more dynamic city center by opening four different public parks in the heart of the city by 2023. The newest park to open, which is the second of the four, balances traditional park design with innovation.

The West End Square park opened in March 2021 and is located at the center of the West End Historic District. The park is regarded as a “testing ground for incorporating technology in a public space both as a means to support maintenance and operations, but also as a public amenity in itself.” Formerly a surface parking lot, the site was converted throughout 2020 to the only public park in this urban neighborhood. 

The “next generation park” is a model for future parks that are designed with evolving and ever-changing technologies in mind. In the two environments at West End Square, there’s an evident juxtaposition between the outer structure that borders the park called the “Frame,” and the native plants that encompass the inside of the park’s "Prairie Gardens.” To allow for a more sustainable approach, these gardens — inspired by the Texas Blackland Prairies — are supported by a smart irrigation system and can self-regulate depending on the weather. Many of the materials in the park are sourced locally, fabricated in Texas.

Other design elements located in The Square are features like an Outdoor Workroom, a 50-foot-long table with wireless charging pads and plugs, The Porch, with porch swings that make any visitor feel a bit of whimsy, the Game Room, with ping pong and foosball to create a playful space, and the Innovation Arcade, a place with seating to host temporary installations, performances and other public art. There’s also an interactive Water Table that catches visitors’ eyes when it changes from a reflecting pool to a cloud of cooling mist.

Parks for Downtown Dallas project director Sarah Hughes lives right outside downtown in Cedars, but frequents the new park regularly. 

"You see a lot of people that just want to get out again, and West End Square has been a welcome attraction for them,” Hughes said. “And because we're in a low rise environment, the historic district, this park feels a lot bigger because of that. You're able to see sky."

Once just an empty lot, the West End Square is being referred to as a “smart” park, integrating technology that can adapt with the future.

“We were constantly asking ourselves what makes us a park 'smart,' there's really not a precedent for that in a public space. And so what we really tried to do was be forward thinking about the way that this was designed and approached. So the Frame on three sides is kind of a plug and play architectural element that can grow with the park as its needs evolve. Because we know technology is a really fast paced deal, like, today's technology will be yesterday's news before you know it."

Hughes said this innovative park gives visitors a different experience than a typical suburban neighborhood park.

“There is always going to be space for regular parks. Like I think that there's always going to be that desire to just have green space. You don't have to really overthink this. It's special when you can curate an experience that feels elevated because of the technology in it. But I don't think that you need that everywhere all the time You can go to different spaces in different parts of the city and have a varied experience. It makes it distinctive, it makes it interesting and it's good for the visitors and it's also good for the people that live there,” Hughes said.

And it’s already been a hit with Dallas residents and even out-of-towners. Deep Ellum resident Maddy Campillo brought some family from California to join her for her first trip to West End Square.

“We have some friends who live right across the way who have said it’s such a really fun, eclectic hangout spot. And I already love the historic district, so this is just so fun,” Campillo said. “I know people in the apartments [next door] actually have their own paddles for the ping pong tables and will come out here and do little events and hang out. So it’s really cool to have it. It’s such a nice area."

In terms of why there’s a push to revitalize the areas around downtown Dallas, Hughes said it’s what the people in the community want to see and a place to draw in visitors of Dallas.

“It's at the center point of a lot of visitor attractions. The aquarium’s not too far away. The Dallas Holocaust Human Rights Museum is just across the street, and it's in between the convention center and Victory Park  So it's in this perfect pedestrian zone, if you will,” Hughes said. "Dallas Park and Recreation Department had a Dallas Parks Master Plan for downtown parks that they approved in 2004, and that's where this all started. And then, you know, there was a lot of development in downtown. You really started hearing people talk about the Renaissance and Klyde Warren Park opened. And so they updated the master plan in 2013 to account for all those changes. And that's really when they identified the four priority parks that we are building.”

Hughes said the idea for these parks was not an overnight thought, but a plan that was in the works for more than a decade. 

"The funding was approved partially in 2006 with that bond program by the City of Dallas. And it really took a public-private partnership with Parks for Downtown Dallas and the city's Park and Recreation Department to make this a reality. So I think in that sense, it’s amazing what we can accomplish together. When there's the will of the people to have this outdoor green space, public green space, I think that's a really powerful thing and so this is just a big win, I think, for the whole entire city.”

Parks for Downtown Dallas is on course to build four new, city-owned, urban neighborhood parks by early 2023. Pacific Plaza was the first of the four-park project, which opened in the fall of 2019. West End Square came to fruition during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and quietly opened in spring 2021. The next park, Carpenter Park, will open be the largest park in downtown at 5.6 acres and will open near Deep Ellum in 2022, and Harwood Park  near the Farmers Market, will be open in 2023.

"Together with your support, this network of parks will accomplish what research has shown parks can do: improve the environmental, physical, economic health and social fabric of our downtown,” the Parks for Downtown Dallas donation page reads. If you’d like to support the Parks with a tax-deductible donation, you can do so here.