A view of Belo Garden in downtown Dallas. Belo Garden is one of three major downtown parks to open since 2009. The Belo Foundation is contributing $30 million towards building four new downtown parks identified in the 2013 downtown parks master plan. (File/Dallas Morning News staff)

Dallas’ downtown parks Belo Foundation pledges $30 million to complete downtown parks plan

Looking to build on the success of Klyde Warren Park, Belo Garden and Main Street Garden, the Belo Foundation announced an ambitious plan Thursday to realize a longstanding vision for downtown by creating 17 acres of new green space through the construction of four major parks.

The plan calls for $70 million in private and public funding to build the parks within the next 10 years, with the Belo Foundation pledging $30 million toward the effort. The four parks -- Harwood Park, Carpenter Park, Pacific Plaza and West End Plaza -- were listed as high priorities in the 2013 update of the downtown parks master plan.

“Great cities have great parks," Belo Foundation chairman Robert Decherd said. “This is such an immediate and significant opportunity to change the way downtown works as a community.”

The initiative aims to continue the momentum that has seen three new parks open downtown since 2009.

Dallas has long lagged behind other cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and Houston when it comes to downtown park space. Decherd, a key leader in the downtown parks movement over the last decade, said these open spaces play a "pivotal role" in the life and development of a city.

Plan to fund downtown parks The Belo Foundation will reconstitute as Parks for Downtown Dallas and devote $30 million, nearly all of its assets, to build four parks: Carpenter Park, Pacific Plaza, Harwood Park and West End Plaza Parks for Downtown Dallas will seek to raise an additional $5 million for a total pledge of $35 million. John and Cele Carpenter III have already pledged $3 million of the $5 million for the renovation of Carpenter Park. The $35 million committed by Parks for Downtown Dallas will be offered to the city through a dollar-for-dollar matching grant. The city will be responsible for contributing matching capital, most likely through a bond issue that would be voted on in 2017. Each of the four parks would be endowed with an operating fund. Officials expect the $70 million would fully fund construction and operating endowments for the four parks. Parks for Downtown Dallas estimates that with a full match by the city, the four parks could be built in 7 to 10 years. As part of its transition to a parks-specific focus, the Belo Foundation will make a $1.5 million grant to the University of Texas Moody College of Communication to support digital innovation programs at the School of Journalism. An additional $500,000 grant will go to Southern Methodist University to establish a new endowment to support efforts by the school’s Division of Journalism to recruit students of diverse ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Related content Editorial: Here's how we grow 4 more parks in downtown Dallas Belo Foundation announces journalism grants for University of Texas, SMU

“As downtown becomes more residential, as more businesses move back into the center of the city, parks bring people together,” he said.

The impact of the parks movement can be seen throughout Dallas’ rapidly transforming downtown - something the realization of the master plan could hasten. Decherd said the goal is to build all four of the proposed parks within the next seven to 10 years.

Klyde Warren Park, built atop the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, has become a key link between the central business district and the Arts District, providing a large community space and driving up property values in the booming area.

Main Street Garden, located at Main and St. Paul streets, has brought new life to a formerly moribund stretch of downtown. Belo Garden, at Griffin and Main streets, has provided a serene oasis with a water feature and shaded seating amid a thicket of high-rises.

During a celebratory press conference at City Hall Thursday afternoon, Mayor Mike Rawlings said the city has a unique opportunity to leverage the Belo Foundation’s gift to “change the face” of downtown.

“Downtown is everybody’s neighborhood,” he said. “What we’re finding is that parks are the steroids of economic development. When you put them in there, great things start to happen.”

The increased focus on creating green space in the urban core will be reflected in a new name for the Belo Foundation, which has reconstituted as Parks for Downtown Dallas following a trustee vote Wednesday afternoon. Decherd, current vice chairman and former chief executive of A.H. Belo Corporation, which owns the Dallas Morning News, will continue to serve as chairman of Parks for Downtown Dallas.

The foundation’s $30 million pledge, nearly all of its endowment assets, will be offered to the city through a dollar-for-dollar matching grant. Parks for Downtown Dallas plans to raise an additional $5 million from private donors for the matching grant fund, bringing the total amount of private funding available to the city to $35 million.

The city’s share of public dollars would come from a bond issue expected to go before voters by 2017. If the city’s contribution is fully funded, a total of $70 million would be available, enough to cover the estimated construction costs. A portion of the $70 million would also provide operating endowments to pay for ongoing maintenance for each of the proposed parks as well as Main Street Garden. Belo Garden and Klyde Warren Park already have operating endowments.