"There will be restaurants and retail on the first floor, an event space on the second floor and a deck on the roof," park chairman Jody Grant said of Klyde Warren Park's next phase, as reported by The Dallas Morning News in June. In the same piece, he said he hopes the new section will draw a younger crowd for everything from casual visits to "events as major as weddings."
That changes what Klyde Warren Park is. The 5.4 acres that opened in 2012 are set up for dropping in: a fountain, a children's park, a dog park, food trucks. The 1.7 acres being added west toward Field Street center on a building you can book. For anyone who lives within walking distance, the build itself mostly stays off the lawn. Over the next two years the disruption lands on Woodall Rodgers Freeway and its frontage roads. After that, the park gains a second identity.
The deck goes in first, and the existing lawns stay open
The park sent neighbors a notice saying construction was expected to begin "on or around October 19, 2026." The start has moved before. In June, Grant told The Dallas Morning News he hoped work would begin in November or December, and Michael Morris of the Regional Transportation Council expected it to start after the park's Christmas events. Treat October as the scheduled start, and watch for crews.
The order of work explains why the park you use today stays usable. According to the park's construction update, the expansion happens in two phases:
- The deck. Archer Western, the firm that built the original deck more than a decade ago, covers the last recessed stretch of Woodall Rodgers.
- The amenities. Once the deck is finished, the park's foundation builds the lawn, overlook and pavilion on top of it.
The park's official release puts construction at about 24 months. Fox 4 reported a projected opening in late 2028. An NBC 5 report from November 2025 had said 2029, so the newer timeline is a little more optimistic.
The friction is on the road
For the first phase, the park's notice lays out what drivers can expect:
- Woodall Rodgers Freeway stays open throughout, with some lane reductions.
- Two weekend closures of the freeway are expected about a year into construction.
- The frontage roads stay open, also with some lane reductions.
- Frontage-road parking meters may be limited to keep through traffic moving.
The last item matters most for a quick evening visit. If you've been grabbing a metered spot on the frontage road to walk the dog or pick up dinner, that spot may not be there. The park hasn't published specific closure dates yet. It points drivers to DriveTexas and the DriveTexas app for scheduled lane closures, and it posts updates on its KWP 2.0 page and in its weekly Neighbors' email. The notice also says that during earlier construction, traffic tended to settle once drivers learned alternate routes.
What the drop-in park looks like right now
Everything the park is known for today sits on the existing deck east of the construction zone, and none of it is listed as closing.
My Best Friend's Park is open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and has a Little Dog Lounge for dogs 30 pounds and under. It has already moved once, to a larger, shadier spot in the park's southwest corner.
The Sheila and Jody Grant Children's Park covers 18,000 square feet, with a 35-foot climbing tower, a climbing wall, two water features, a treetop lookout and a party pavilion. The interactive Nancy Best Fountain, the Reading Room and free games are nearby.
Food comes from Mi Cocina on the Park, La Parada and a rotating lineup of trucks. On October 19, for example, the food truck schedule listed The Salty, Eloisa's Kitchen, Freshnez, Mint's Kitchen – Thai and Yummy Pizza. That roster changes daily, and the park says schedules are subject to change.
The rest of the park map also stays as is: the Ginsburg Family Great Lawn, the Muse Family Performance Pavilion, Moody Plaza, The Porch and the Chase Promenade.
The holiday calendar is still booked on the old deck
The park's events calendar runs through the start of construction with nothing marked as moved:
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Nov. 7 | Dallas Walk to End Alzheimer's | Listed on the park calendar |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | The Boho Market | Listed on the park calendar |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | H-E-B/Central Market Tree Lighting Celebration | 4 to 7 p.m., with Santa photos, Mrs. Claus story time, face painting, performances, characters, music and treats |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | The Boho Holiday Market | 4 to 9 p.m., local artisan vendors |
The Tree Lighting page still says to check back for more details. Since December 5 combines the tree lighting with an evening market, plan for that night to be the busiest on the calendar. If frontage-road meters are limited by then, a garage or walking is the safer bet.
What the second half is built for
The new section fills the gap between North St. Paul and North Akard streets, and the building sits on top of it. Side by side with today's park, the difference shows up in how each space is meant to be used:
| Park today | Expansion, projected late 2028 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 5.4 acres | Adds 1.7 acres, for 7.1 total |
| Signature lawn | Ginsburg Family Great Lawn | 37,000-square-foot Jacobs Lawn for festivals, markets, performances and civic events |
| Building | Existing pavilions and Mi Cocina on the Park | Glass-and-steel pavilion with about 24,000 square feet of two-level event and reception space |
| Rooftop | None listed | 8,000-square-foot rooftop terrace |
| Winter | Holiday events on existing lawns | Planned ice rink on the Jacobs Lawn |
| Lookout | Treetop lookout in the children's park | The Overlook |
Grant's description in The Dallas Morning News puts restaurants and retail on the pavilion's first floor, and the paper's report doesn't name any tenants. The ice rink is in the plans, and no rink has been scheduled.
More free programming is coming too. The park draws 1.3 million visitors a year, and Grant previously told The Dallas Morning News the expansion could increase free events by 30%. Taken together, the bookable reception space and rooftop, plus a bigger lawn for festivals and markets, point to a park that hosts more scheduled events and draws more people for them.
Why it took this long
The Dallas Morning News reported that the expansion costs $200 million and was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and expensive bids. The city allocated $10 million from a 2017 bond program, and the project received $6.5 million through a $1.25 billion bond package in 2024. Funding sources also include the Regional Transportation Council, the city of Dallas, the federal government and the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation, among others. Morris said the mix of possible funding sources made the project tricky to finance.
The two-phase sequence splits the work along the same line. The deck is the highway part of the job, so it's the part that comes with TxDOT coordination and lane closures. The park's foundation builds the lawn, overlook and pavilion after the deck is done. For the next couple of years, people who live near the park will mostly feel the first part: narrower lanes on Woodall Rodgers, fewer meters on the frontage road, and two weekend freeway closures somewhere around late 2027. The lawn, dog park and holiday events stay open while it happens.
If you're thinking about living within walking distance of Klyde Warren Park, or about holding a rental near Woodall Rodgers during the build, Ohlig Group can walk you through how the construction timeline fits your plans. Book an appointment and we'll start with the blocks you're considering.