Traditionally a ghost town, Downtown Dallas’ population exploded from a paltry 200 residents to more than 8,000 from 2002 to 2014. In addition to the 135,000 who work downtown, another 10,000, or more, could be living there by 2020; depending on who you ask. While this unprecedented residential growth continues, quality of life in Downtown Dallas is also undergoing a rebirth.

A parking lot will soon give way to the 3.2 acre Pacific Plaza, heralding the beginning of the public/privately funded “greening” of the city’s inner core. Once it opens in 2019, this urban greenspace will join the city’s other three Downtown parks created over the past decade: Main Street Garden, Belo Garden, and Klyde Warren Park, which was built over a busy freeway that connects Dallas’ two major north/south interstates.

"We couldn't be more thrilled the city is moving forward," Robert Kent of the Trust for Public Land recently told the Dallas Morning News, “and can't wait to have this beautiful park in the middle of Downtown to bring our city together."

This momentum could continue. The Parks for Downtown Dallas foundation—which is contributing $11 million to Pacific Place’s development—is ready to add another $24 million to create three more Downtown parks in the next several years. The city’s share for construction of all of these green spaces is part of a bond package that is on this May’s municipal ballot.