Dallas, Texas is building a 10,000-acre nature district along the Trinity River. It will feature walkways, sports fields, trees, plants and flowers and once construction is over it will be the largest urban park in the US. The urban park is set to be completed by the year 2021.
According to Business Insider, Annette Simmons, billionaire Harold Simmons' widow donated $50 million that will be put into construction for 285 acres of the 10,000 acres urban park project which the city has targeted to finish by 2021. The 285-acre area will be called the Harold Simmons Park and will cost $250 million to build. Mayor Mark Rawlings, Dallas' mayor has said via Dallas News that he is expecting other donations from private citizens to fund the rest of the Harold Simmons Park.
The urban nature park will become part of the larger nature district which is called the Trinity River Project, that began in the early 2000s. The Dallas city has already spent over $609 million in building trails, a bridge, a golf course, a community center, a horse park as well as a community center in a 6,200-acre forested area. They are also planning to build more shops and restaurants as well as housing and offices near the river.
However, before the Harold Simmons Park can begin breaking ground, the US Army Corps of Engineers will have to study the plans and approve it since it is a flood zone. Lead architect, Michael Van Valkenburgh has said in a recent conference that the park is designed to welcome the water and will naturally control the flood as water will drain into bioswales, adding that the areas that have a high risk of flooding, areas that include sports fields and trails, will be farthest from the river and will be elevated.
Five bridges are said to be built to connect the rest of the park to the Community Center. The urban park also aims to bridge the gap between the city's poorer Southern districts with that of the wealthier Northern districts.
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