Part of a brief Opinion series on The Future of Fair Park, this column argues that renewal in South Dallas must involve neighbors there.
The state of Fair Park presents a golden opportunity to change how we approach redevelopment near vulnerable communities.
Our entrenched system, if not corrected, would add South Dallas-Fair Park neighborhoods to the list of communities that only exist in history books. Little Egypt; State-Thomas Freedman’s Town, also known as Short North Dallas; and Little Mexico are all examples of Black and brown communities created because of racially oppressive policies and cut off by pressures from development.
As the court of public opinion debates the collapse of the plan under the Fair Park First/Oak View Group agreement, we should seize this golden opportunity to do something bold, inclusive and different for Fair Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.
This is Dallas’ opportunity to redeem itself from past injustices, model the value of inclusivity and make intentional community investment in the heart of our city.
Opinion
Vulnerability
South Dallas neighborhoods are in a vulnerable state. The two ZIP codes that make up most of the area (75215 and 75210) have child poverty rates higher than 30%, median household income levels less than half of the median for the metroplex, and unemployment rates higher than the city’s average, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. The area needs investment.
But it also needs intentionality. Redevelopment near vulnerable communities requires strategy so that harms don’t multiply. When significant public and private investment is poured into an area near economically vulnerable communities, a ripple effect happens. Demand in the South Dallas/Fair Park area has already increased due to speculation of plans for Fair Park. As demand for the area increases, so do home prices. In 2023, D magazine reported that ZIP codes 75210 and 75215 had seen some of the highest home price increases in the entire state.
Renter-occupied housing accounts for more than 60% of all housing stock in the area, and Builders of Hope CDC’s anti-displacement maps rank neighborhoods around Fair Park as vulnerable to displacement.
These stats are the context we should consider before casting a new vision for the park. Fair Park needs to be revitalized to its highest and most valued use. It’s the only shot at the park being self-sufficient and fully activated beyond the State Fair and Cotton Bowl. At the same time, we should be aware of the likely consequences of those uses and do our best to mitigate negative effects.
At a recent Mill City community meeting held by the Real Estate Council, Dallas Catalyst Project, Mill City Community Association and Builders of Hope Community Development Corp., residents gave input on design and development. One of the leading areas of consensus surprised me. Residents wanted the art deco theme that Fair Park is known for to flow into their neighborhoods. That’s because neighborhoods see the park as a natural extension, even if that sentiment hasn’t always been shared on the other side of the fence. The best future for South Dallas won’t further tear neighbors away from that identity.
Strength
Even in the presence of poverty, South Dallas has power. The next generation of community developers is already taking shape with leaders like Ferrell Fellows, Scottie Smith, Annie Evans, Jason Brown, Jay Taylor and the Rev. Billy Lane.
There is significant Black land ownership directly facing Fair Park’s south gates and groups like Pointe South Revitalization have early plans for over $230 million in redevelopment.
The future of Fair Park should also include an economic development plan with community benefits. Nearby businesses should be invited to participate as vendors. Legacy residents should be given resources for home repair and to age in place.
Communities around Fair Park only need opportunity. Our response should be to create a pathway, with guardrails for protection versus restriction, that will lead to economic mobility for residents and business owners. There are Black landowners who only need access to capital, private partnership and city participation to develop something South Dallas has never seen before. There are nonprofits with neighborhood plans and tools to address social needs, but who can’t without support. There are homegrown vendors that only need the space and opportunity to connect demand with their supply.
I spoke with the South Dallas community development forerunner Hank Lawson, savant and sage Ken Smith, and neighborhood champion Alendra Lyons on their visions for South Dallas. Their responses had one common theme: collaboration.
It was “work better together” and “keep community involvement front and center.” Not as an afterthought, nor through one or two seats on a board.
Considering the atrocious racial injustices of the past, we must make every effort to put the community in the driver’s seat and actively preserve remnants of history and community.
Economic restorative justice isn’t making payments for past sins. It’s deeper than that. Consider it the creation of a playing field that was excluded before. We can only do that if our plans for the park give nearby neighborhoods and stakeholders a bigger chair at the decision table and a long-term part to play.
If we look back 10 years from now and the only thing created was another entertainment district yet no improvement to nearby neighborhoods and economic mobility for residents, we will have failed.
Fair Park is a golden opportunity, but not just to build something new and shiny. It’s a golden opportunity to do the right thing the right way.