Donors commit $10 million for Woodall Rodgers park
Dallas: City may include $20 million more in bond proposal
Dallas Morning News, The (TX)
May 11, 2006
Author: DAVE LEVINTHAL; Staff Writer
Estimated printed pages: 2

A coalition of downtown business leaders and arts patrons says it has secured $10 million in pledges toward creation of one of the most ambitious - and expensive - park projects in Dallas history.
The commitment, in the form of a two-page letter delivered Wednesday to City Manager Mary Suhm, comes days before the manager's office reveals its proposed 2006 bond program to the City Council, but days after a deadline for such a commitment to be made.

Letter signatories include oilman Ray Hunt, real estate mogul Ray Nasher and banker Jody Grant, who has already donated $1 million for the proposed Woodall Rodgers Deck Park.

Mayor Laura Miller had asked that Dallas' business and philanthropic community identify $10 million in private funds by May 1 for the city to feel comfortable including $20 million in matching funds in the bond program.

The bond package, which city leaders estimate will be valued at $1.25 billion to $1.4 billion, is scheduled to go before voters in November.

The private sector has promised to raise $20 million for the park, which would cap a canyonlike section of its freeway namesake with several acres of greenery and recreational space and connect Uptown to downtown's Arts District.

Ms. Suhm wouldn't comment on whether the private sector's funding pledge will prompt her to include $20 million in her bond proposal.

But "we're excited about the project, and we appreciate their commitment," she said. "The park would be a great asset to downtown."

Tricia Linderman, Mr. Grant's special assistant, said she "would not be so presumptuous to say we're confident" that the city would include $20 million in deck park funding in the bond program.

"But we're hopeful," she said. "These are not people who would sign their names to something lightly."

When May 1 came and went without word from the private sector, some council members expressed concern that the project - scheduled to be completed by the decade's end - might be delayed.

Mr. Grant moved to temper those concerns, saying last week that "everything with Woodall Rodgers park is on track. We have completed the structural engineering and have a preliminary park design, which is based largely on feedback from the public, and we have started the quiet phase of our fundraising campaign."

Mr. Grant said he anticipates "sharing our progress publicly sometime in the next month."

The deck park, as proposed, would cover Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets and account for more than five acres of recreational space.

Original estimates put the park's total cost at $60 million. But Wednesday's letter indicated that costs might approach $70 million.

The state already has allocated $10 million for the project, and council members have almost universally supported the concept. The remaining $10 million would come from other state and federal sources, supporters say.

"It's a terrific project," Ms. Miller wrote in an e-mail. "It greatly enhances the country's largest Arts District, creates a much-needed gathering place for residents and visitors, and eliminates a portion of the unsightly highway that divides Uptown from downtown Dallas."

Other letter-signers include Linda Owen of The Real Estate Council and John Zogg of Crescent Real Estate Equities.

The signers also state in the letter that "the private sector is willing to absorb any excess construction costs."

"Perhaps the private landowners around the park site can rally to the cause, because the park will increase their land values dramatically," Ms. Miller said.

E-mail dlevinthal@dallasnews.com
Edition:  SOUTH
Section:  METRO
Page:  15B
Copyright 2006 The Dallas Morning News
Record Number:  1180397396