The Community Park at Fair Park just received a significant boost to the tune of $2.5 million. In the lobby of City Hall, the McKesson Foundation announced the grant in support of the project. “This project is important because it brings together health, community and access in a way that is de signed to support people every day,” said Melissa Thompson, President of the McKesson Foundation. It’s a critical investment for a space ultimately designed for the families who live, work and do life in South Dallas daily. Councilman Adama Bazaldua said that was intentional. “This is tangible. These are real dollars,” said Bazaldua. “This is the philanthropic community coming to South Dallas in a way they’ve never come to South Dallas. And it’s not for others to benefit. This is an investment in the people of South Dallas.” The park will cover a little more than 10 acres on what is currently Fair Park’s largest parking lot. The McKesson Foundation’s “McKesson Market Grove” will serve as a space for wellness programming, community events, and healthy food initiatives within the park. Jason Brown is a South Dallas native and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Fair Park First. He reflected on how far the project has come. “You hear studies about the heat island. These large areas of concrete and asphalt that literally increase the temperature in areas,” said Brown. “It shows people out there that folks are not only talking but they’re putting their money up and showing up to improve and have healthy outcomes.” Bazaldua pointed to a time when the park was in jeopardy of losing funding, resulting in the Dallas City Council taking authority of the development to keep the ball rolling. He said it’s a move that paid off. “I made the decision to do something very unprecedented at the time and take the park agreement from the park board at the time so that we could move more expeditiously and we didn’t perpetuate that bureaucracy that slows things down and we didn’t jeopardize the McKesson foundation from being a partner in this project. And I think that sense of urgency was felt and appreciated from the McKesson Foundation to stay on board.” The price tag for the project sits at about $40 million. Fair Park First had already come up with some $34 million for the project, so this grant puts them nearly at the finish line. Groundbreaking is expected sometime later this year, with the buildout expected to take about 18-24 months. ...read more read less