Fair Park in South Dallas has secured $2.5 million in funding from the McKesson Foundation to support long-term programming for the community park project. The grant, the foundation’s largest single investment in Dallas, will focus on health and wellness initiatives aimed at improving access to green space and resources that promote well-being.

City and nonprofit leaders gathered at Dallas City Hall on June 18 to mark the latest progress on the development, which has faced delays and management changes since the city assumed control of the fairgrounds. The roughly 10-acre park will replace a parking lot near the intersection of Exposition and South Fitzhugh avenues.

Adam Bazaldua, the city council representative for the area, highlighted the significance of the project for South Dallas. He emphasized the role of the park in fostering community connections and providing safe, accessible spaces where families can gather and children can play. “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,” Bazaldua said.

The funding announcement follows challenges earlier in the project’s development. Last year, the city severed ties with nonprofit Fair Park First and Oak View Group, the fairgrounds’ venue manager, amid concerns over financial mismanagement. This left the project uncertain until February, when Dallas City Council renewed a contract supporting the park’s construction ahead of deadlines tied to securing additional funds.

Fair Park First currently holds the contract to build the community park, but the city has yet to designate an operator for the facility once it opens. The group is still working to close a remaining funding gap of about $7.5 million toward the project’s estimated $40 million budget.

Melissa Thompson, president of the McKesson Foundation, explained the motivation behind the foundation’s investment. She noted that health outcomes in South Dallas and neighboring areas north of Interstate 30 have long been affected by disparities, including limited access to healthcare providers and grocery stores. “Health is shaped by far more than clinical care. 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,” Thompson said.

A key feature of the park will be the McKesson Market Grove, designed as a venue for health education, fitness activities, nutrition programming, and various wellness-focused community events.

Jason Brown, chair of the Fair Park First board and a South Dallas native, stressed the importance of partnerships in advancing the project. He noted that the new funding will support programming beyond just construction costs and expressed optimism about moving forward.

The initial plan called for groundbreaking in August 2026, but delays related to contract finalization have pushed that timeline. Fair Park First now aims to begin construction by the end of the year, with completion anticipated in late 2027 or early 2028.

Community leaders see the development as a long-overdue transformation of an area that has historically been dominated by parking lots and infrastructure, part of a broader effort to repair decades of neighborhood disruption caused by the original construction of the fairgrounds.

Heather Stevens, president of consulting firm Rise360 and campaign adviser for the project, framed the park’s progress as a milestone toward making the space more welcoming and accessible to residents. “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. Today, the vision takes another step forward,” Stevens said.