Rendering of outdoor market at Fair Park’s Community Park Complex.
Fair Park First
Fair Park’s long-awaited community park is getting $2.5 million from a North Texas health company to fund long-term programming.
“Today is a great day for Fair Park, and for the future of our city because the wins just keep coming for South Dallas,” said Adam Bazaldua, the area’s City Council representative.
On Thursday, city and nonprofit leaders gathered at City Hall and celebrated the progress for the project, which hasn’t yet broken ground and faced earlier uncertainty and delays as the city took over management of the fairgrounds. Now, it appears to be moving forward.
“When we talk about building stronger communities, we’re talking about more than roads, buildings or infrastructure,” Bazaldua said. “We’re talking about creating places where families can gather, where children can play, where neighbors can connect and where people have access to opportunities and resources that they need to live healthy, successful lives.”
Article continues below this ad
The city’s Park Board earlier approved naming a component of the project in honor of the McKesson Foundation and its largest single investment in Dallas with the $2.5 million grant, which will focus on health and wellness.
South Dallas leaders have urged progress for the roughly 10-acre park planned to replace parking at the fairgrounds near Exposition and South Fitzhugh avenues. City Council allowed the project to move forward earlier this year.
Related: Fair Park gets green light for community park in South Dallas in Dallas City Council vote
For months, its future was undecided as leaders assessed the nonprofit’s readiness. This came after scrutiny over millions in misspent donor funds. The city cut ties last year with Fair Park First and Oak View Group, Fair Park’s venue manager. That left the project in limbo until February, when the City Council approved a new contract ahead of deadlines for millions in funding.
Fair Park First has a contract to build the park. The city has not yet decided who will operate the park once it’s open.
The project is part of a decadeslong effort to repair damage after the city razed homes to build the parking lots. The McKesson Foundation is focused on expanding green space access and health-centered programming in South Dallas.
Melissa Thompson, the McKesson Foundation president, speaks during a meeting of Fair Park First, which is building the community park at Fair Park. The gathering was to announce a multimillion-dollar grant and was held inside the lobby at Dallas City Hall on June 18, 2026.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
“Health is shaped by far more than clinical care,” said foundation president Melissa Thompson. “Health begins where people live, where they gather, and where they connect, and where they have access to resources that support them and their well-being every day.”
Article continues below this ad
Between South Dallas and some areas to the north of Interstate 30, there is a more than 17-year gap in life expectancies. In southern Dallas, there are fewer doctors. Grocery stores are farther from reach. For years, officials, health leaders and nonprofits have been working to address these trends.
“We think holistically about health, including the everyday environments and experiences that shape well-being over time,” Thompson said. “That’s because access to welcoming spaces, opportunities to be active and resources that support healthy choices can make a real difference.”
At the community park, the McKesson Market Grove will anchor a section dedicated to gatherings and wellness activities, envisioned as a space for health education, fitness, nutrition programming and other community offerings.
Related: Southern Dallas grapples with health disparities in new Dallas County report with Parkland
Fair Park First, which is building the community park at Fair Park, announced a multimillion-dollar grant inside the lobby at Dallas City Hall on June 18, 2026. Speakers listed from left are, John Jenkins, Dallas park department director, Adam Bazaldua, South Dallas’ City Council representative, Alyssa Siffermann, executive director for Fair Park First, Melissa Thompson, the McKesson Foundation president, Jason Brown, Fair Park First board chair, Heather Stevens, Rise360 president, Daniel Wood, South Dallas park board representative and the Rev. Todd Atkins.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
Jason Brown, Fair Park First’s board chair, said as someone from South Dallas, the investment is especially meaningful. He’s seen generations treasure the site.
Article continues below this ad
“Projects like this are only possible through strong partnerships,” Brown said.
He said the funding goes beyond construction, helping to support the programming. Fair Park First is still working to close a roughly $7.5 million funding gap to meet its goal of about $40 million.
Fair Park First is also faced with a timeline that was delayed for months in the period that it didn’t have a contract. The nonprofit had aimed to break ground in August, and is now hoping to get there by the end of this year, with a goal of completion in late 2027. It could go into 2028, Brown said.
“For years, community members, civic leaders, volunteers, philanthropists and public officials have shared a vision of transforming this space into something more accessible than a parking lot, more welcoming than asphalt and more connected to neighbors that surround it,” said Heather Stevens, president of consulting group Rise360 and campaign adviser for the community park. “Today, the vision takes another step forward.”
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.