DALLAS—After nearly five years, Klyde Warren Park president Tara Green will step down at the end of the month to join the Office of James Burnett as its new principal of program development. The success of the celebrated park at 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway is partly due to her influence for nearly all of the park's existence.
Klyde Warren Park connects the Uptown neighborhood with the Dallas Arts District and downtown. The park was built over the recessed Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul Streets.
Building a 5-acre deck park over a recessed eight-lane freeway took an imaginative and hard-working team of Dallas leaders and a clear vision. Construction on the deck began in October 2009 and the park opened in October 2012. It was designed by the Office of James Burnett.
The park was envisioned as a catalyst for the ongoing transformation of downtown by bringing quality of life, foot traffic and increasing demand for surrounding properties. Indeed, Klyde Warren Park served as a catalyst for downtown growth and attracted new housing, as well as an increasing number of employers to the CBD/Uptown.
According to JLL research, since the park opened, newly developed office space and increased office occupancy in the area around the park has reached upwards of 1.3 million square feet, with many companies willing to pay premium rent to be nearby to attract and retain top talent. Approximately 7,000 new employees have reinvigorated the offices surrounding Klyde Warren Park during that time.
“Tara Green is an outstanding steward for the city of Dallas and all of North Texas. Under her leadership, Klyde Warren Park has flourished, welcoming millions of visitors from across the globe to our internationally renowned greenspace that's served as both the literal and figurative bridge between our CBD and Uptown,” Brad Selner, JLL south central region president, tells GlobeSt.com. “During her tenure as president, the office market has ushered in unprecedented growth, transcending previous expectations, exemplifying the promise of public-private partnerships which unquestionably played a role in making North Texas the premiere destination to live, work and play.”
The $110 million project was funded through a public-private partnership. Public support included $20 million in bond funds from Dallas, $20 million in highway funds from the state and $16.7 million in stimulus funds. The balance of funding is through individual donors directly to the private Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. Klyde Warren Park is owned by the city, and privately operated and managed by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.
The park provides daily free programming for the public ranging from yoga to lecture series to outdoor concerts and films. It includes a performance pavilion, walking trails, dog and children's parks, and a games area.
“We at JLL congratulate her (Green) on her success, thank her for the impact she and her staff have had on the city and look forward to her future successes on her next venture,” says Selner.
Prior to joining Klyde Warren Park, Green served as the chief operating officer for the North Texas Super Bowl XLV host committee, chief revenue officer for American Airlines Center, and vice president of sports marketing for the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. Green's new role will include consulting clients on project financing strategies, park management, operations and open space programming, GlobeSt.com learns.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
