After more than two years of wrangling, meeting and working through details, the team behind the non-profit Fair Park First had their contract to manage one of the nation’s most important historic sites approved by the Dallas City Council yesterday. While concerns from some Council members clearly remain, the vote was nonetheless unanimous for approval. Now the onus is those of us on the Fair Park First team to allay those concerns by delivering on the goals laid out by the City. Thus begins an exciting new chapter in the story of Fair Park.
The Fair Park First team features Spectra, a global event and venue management company based in Philadelphia that will provide general management, programming, and many exciting new events to make the site both a year-round destination and a badly needed economic spark for the entire Fair Park/South Dallas community. Also contributing will be Biederman Redevelopment Ventures out of New York who will update the existing, approved park master plan and and who will also conceptualize and design a new community park within Fair Park’s grounds. Biederman was the design force behind Dallas’ hyper-successful Klyde Warren Park. The non-profit organization, In the City for Good, will perform community outreach and work to extend the redevelopment benefits at Fair Park into the surrounding neighborhood while also working to improve the often strained relationship between the park and its neighbors.
Norman Alston, AIA will guide the preservation and restoration of this amazing National Historic Landmark site. He currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for Fair Park First and chairs the Board’s Facilities/Historic Preservation Sub-Committee.