Second Avenue is a South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan focus area

Second Avenue was once the heart of South Dallas. It was a vibrant street full of stores, shops, restaurants and the people of South Dallas. But years of neglect, underinvestment, limiting development regulations and the absorption of parts of 2nd Avenue into Fair Park has left 2nd Avenue a shell of its former self. Current land uses along the street are a scattered mix of office, retail, restaurant and institutional, with a number of vacant properties. Through thoughtful investment and planning, 2nd Avenue can once again become a vibrant focal point of South Dallas.

Future Vision

The future vision for 2nd Avenue is that it becomes a walkable street with retail, restaurants, offices, residential and mixed use buildings with an overall focus on entertainment. New buildings should mimic many of the existing buildings that have a Pre-World War II style, where the buildings are close to the street with parking either on-street or behind the building. The existing right-of-way of 2nd Avenue (currently four-lane undivided) should be examined to determine if a better street design would match a walkable mixed use street. This vision for 2nd Avenue aligns with the citywide Neighborhood Mixed Use Placetype which describes low-rise walkable mixed use areas.

Recommendations

To achieve the vision of the walkable mixed use street, the following are recommended: 

1. A change to the zoning along 2nd Avenue and between 2nd Avenue and Robert B Cullum should be considered to spur interest and activate ongoing events and activities along the corridor.
2. A mixed use subdistrict within the Planned Development 595 should be considered to allow for retail, personal service uses, office, restaurant, residential, in particular if part of a mixed-use building. The subdistrict should also include development standards that encourage the building to be located close to the street, be limited to low rise in height, and remove parking minimums.
3. The 2nd Avenue merchant association should work with the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce to host quarterly workshops. Consider updating the zoning for areas identified as Neighborhood Mixed Use to allow for a walkable mix of uses.

Second Avenue is one of five focus areas in the South Dallas/Fair Park Area Plan. These serve as key areas where efforts and resources should be concentrated to address specific challenges, unlock potential, and stimulate development. These areas were chosen based on their ability to drive meaningful change, such as boosting economic activity, improving community infrastructure, and enhancing quality of life. 

Read about the task force’s vision and recommendations for the other four focus areas:

• Elsie Faye Heggins Street
• Malcolm X Boulevard Corridor 
• Martin Luther King Jr. DART Station
• Queen City

This content was pulled directly from the City of Dallas draft of the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan, pages 39 and 42. Only minor spelling, grammar and punctuation changes were made.