Dallas Unveils Ambitious Park Project: Melanie Ferguson and David Marquis stand on top of the Southside Ballroom in the Cedars neighborhood of South Dallas on a recent warm and windy afternoon.
The beautiful city scenery is on one side. On the other side is the huge, green Trinity River valley.
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People in Dallas know Marquis for the work he does for the environment. The Oak Cliff Nature Preserve was help set up by him. Ferguson is in charge of Matthews Southwest, a real estate business. They both want the Dallas Water Commons to be built. It will be a new “sustainable urban wetland” that will be planned with the city in a public-private relationship.
Just outside the Trinity River levees, Ferguson points out two ponds, or “sumps” as the city calls them. These ponds connect to a forest. That is the spot where the Dallas Water Commons will be.
Ferguson said, “One reason it’s called the Dallas Water Commons is that it’s in the middle of downtown Dallas’s beautiful built environment with all the shiny buildings.” People in Dallas, Texas don’t know about this beautiful cover of trees that also helps keep the city safe from flooding. “That thing is a sponge.”
It will be a sponge-like place where the Trinity River can hold water. It will also be a learning center and a park with lots of trees and animals.
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Marquis said that taking care of the world’s natural sources is important.
“The Earth is 70% covered in water, but only 3% of that water is fresh,” he said. “We need to really think about water—how we get to it, how we clean it, and how we deserve to be responsible for the water that’s here.”
Voters in Dallas passed a bond in 2017 that included more than $7 million to build the park. The project will cost more than $50 million all together.
Artists’ sketches of the park show ponds with wildflowers in bloom and winding paths that go around them. Families can sit on the edges of the trails and look out at the water and the Dallas city in the background.
“Workhorse plants will sort the water, and plants will also make the area look nicer,” Marquis said.
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He also said that those natural plants would be able to handle dryness, heavy rain, and everything in between.
The two sumps that are there now are just south of the Cedars on Riverside Boulevard. Some work is being done to fix up the road.
At that point, road barriers separate the land from the water. A hair shop, a glass store, and a fast food place are all close by.
There is a “sump” near Riverside Drive, close to the Cedars in South Dallas, that will be the North pond for the Dallas Water Commons.
The Dallas Wetlands Foundation, the city, and Matthews Southwest, which provided the land and the idea for the project, work together to make the Dallas Water Commons.
“Really the overall intent is to improve an area that really isn’t all that accessible to the public now,” said Ryan O’Conner, director of the city’s parks and recreation department, “by kind of beautifying the area.”
He also said that the two sumps in the commons will give a lot of wildlife a place to live and grow.
“You know, there’s tons of birds that come through the area,” he said. “Once those sump areas are improved, it’s going to be a really cool and unique space.”
The city is currently reviewing and okaying the final plan, so the Dallas Water Commons won’t be ready for at least two more years.
As soon as the Commons is done, Marquis says it will bring more greenery back to Dallas.
“Taking part in restoration of this one ecosystem, this one small piece of it, reminds all of us around the planet this is what we have to do,” he said. “Think globally, act locally.”
As a result, there will be an urban park connecting the heart of the city to the Trinity Forest, which supporters say is one of Dallas’ best kept secrets.
