How the City’s partnership with area nonprofits is combining resources for our community

Photo courtesy of Trust for Public Land.

Tiers lieu. The French have a word dedicated to the phrase, referred to colloquially in English as a “third place.” In the United States, there are only two commonly occurring, free third places: parks and libraries. And for Preston Hollow residents, both may soon be built on the same property at 3728 High Vista Drive.

The Park

The overgrown city-owned lot was chosen for the Dallas Greening Initiative, a joint effort by the City of Dallas and Trust for Public Land. The initiative focuses on finding underutilized city-owned land and turning it into parks in order to get all Dallas residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park or trail. According to a report, 3,446 people would fit this metric after the park is created.

The City of Dallas acquired the land in 2006 with plans to build the Park Forest Branch Library. Two decades later, funding shortfalls have continuously stalled the project.

That’s where Trust for Public Land (TPL) comes in. Funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds secured by the City of Dallas and private funding/donations from entities like Lyda Hill Philanthropies and The Meadows Foundation.

“We were so excited about High Vista because it’s a partnership with a library site,” TPL Texas State Director Molly Morgan says. “If I think about two things that just make sense together for children, families and the public, it’s parks and libraries.”

After selecting and approving the location, the next step was to gather community input.

Pop-up parks, design workshops, community feedback sessions and online surveys took place for over a year. Renderings were drawn up, featuring a walking loop trail, playground area, butterfly garden, picnic area and native seeding area.

“We try to have a park party feel. … It takes it from a piece of paper into something we can visualize together, and gets people really excited,” Morgan says. “Our team at TPL, communication is our passion. It’s what we do. We love working with communities.”

Every Greening Initiative park is different, as different as the community itself, and neighborhood residents indicated support for a family-friendly space. Play areas for children. Shaded seating for adults. Educational landscaping. Each piece of the park is intended to complement the library that will join the property.

And keeping in mind the future library is a key part of the park’s plans.

“We identified an area of the site that we could carve out now to get the community that green space they’ve requested,” Morgan says. “It serves that park gap without limiting the library’s future needs.”

The park’s construction is slated to begin later this year, with an estimated completion timeline of 12 to 18 months.

“It takes it from a piece of paper into something that we can visualize together,” Morgan says. “And that gets people really excited.”

The Library

The current Park Forest Branch Library, built in 1971, is outdated, not able to comply with ADA regulations and was deemed inadequate two decades ago.

The 2024 bond allocated funds for the construction of the new Park Forest Branch Library on the land off Marsh Lane and High Vista Drive. And the City has begun to engage in community outreach efforts to discuss what they’d like to see in a new build. There is no established timeline on the project yet, and the park is planned to be completed long in advance.

“People were really excited about having a place that could complement the library,” Morgan says. “A usable outside space to enjoy nature.”