UPTOWN DALLAS BREAKS GROUND ON GRIGGS PARK IMPROVEMENTS

DALLAS — Uptown Dallas Inc., a nonprofit that manages the Uptown Public Improvement District, has commenced construction on the eight-acre Griggs Park. The park is located near the intersection of Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Central Expressway in Dallas. The construction kicks off the start of the Griggs Park Capital Campaign project. The construction includes children's facilities, kiosks, benches, picnic tables, groves of new trees, pedestrian pathways and fountains. Uptown Dallas will also add commemorative markers honoring the park's namesake, Rev. Allen Griggs, a former slave and pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church in the 1870s. Approximately $1.5 million has been allocated through a public-private partnership for the construction. The City of Dallas will provide basic upkeep and Uptown Dallas will be responsible for planting, watering, electricity and other park maintenance. SWA Group designed the park originally and ValleyCrest Landscape Cos. is completing the park's landscaping. Construction is slated for a fall 2013 completion.