HISTORY OF JUBILEE PARK   ( HISTORIA DE JUBILEE PARK, Español)

Jubilee Park & Community Center was founded in 1997 with collaboration among AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Greater Dallas Community of Churches and Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.  Jubilee Park neighborhood is defined as the 62-block area in southeast Dallas bounded by I-30, Fair Park, and the East Grand Corridor.  

Initial Phase

The Jubilee Park & Community Center Corp. was formed as a 501(c)(3), tax exempt, non-profit entity in 1997.  What had once been a thriving and attractive community had for decades fallen into a constant state of neglect with little to inspire trust and hope in the residents.  In 1997, Jubilee bought two lots at 907 and 917 Bank Street. With the help of Habitat for Humanity, the Jubilee Center was built.  The first Jubilee staff members canvassed the neighborhood and invited children to an after school program.  Those optimistic and enthusiastic first efforts have evolved in twelve years  into comprehensive initiatives, dealing with every facet of community life.  Jubilee operates its programs for all ages out of the two Habitat houses that together are called the community center.  Talented, experienced and committed staff members offers various programs to the community including: after school and summer enrichment for children and youth, meals served daily; GED, computer, English and citizenship classes for adults; food distribution and social activities for seniors; and special programs and celebrations for the entire community.

The Community Needed a Park

The lack of playground facilities was voiced early on as the most critical need of the neighborhood by children as well as school officials and adults in the area. The O.M. Roberts Elementary School located six blocks away had only a postage stamp-size playground, taken up mostly with portable buildings and an asphalt parking lot.  Driving the neighborhood in the afternoon, one could see youth milling around on their front porches or at the convenience store with nothing to do.

Another need was the lack of a catalyst to rejuvenate the community.  Adults and families had no place to congregate. The neighborhood had been in decline for decades and residents felt helpless to turn things around. The resident population is composed of families hard pressed to make ends meet and senior citizens with very low income.  There were a number of dilapidated or abandoned houses and many weed-infested, vacant lots that had been used for decades as a dumping ground for tires, asphalt shingles, syringe needles, whiskey bottles, among other things.  (The abundance of these vacant lots and abandoned homes turned out to be an opportunity rather than a liability.)

And so the concept for the Jubilee Park was born in 1998.  If it could be developed, Jubilee Park would provide a quiet, safe, attractive place for the children and adults to play and congregate. 

The Park’s First Steps – Securing the Funds and Acquisition of Land

The dream of creating the Jubilee Park was presented to some church members in 1998.  Several agreed to anonymously fund the land acquisition.  Thanks to those special benefactors, Jubilee started to acquire as many lots adjacent to the Jubilee Center buildings as possible.  It turned out that almost 50 parcels were identified around the area bounded by Bank Street, Gurley Avenue, South Carroll, and Parry.  Jubilee established some ground rules for its lot acquisition program.  First, no owner was asked to donate their land or finance the sale; instead, cash was paid.  Second, the appraised value or better was paid for every lot acquired. 

The acquisition of land in the Jubilee Park has been a very difficult yet rewarding experience.  The rich cultural history embedded in this area became evident as the lot owners were contacted and discussions began.  From 1998 to the present, over 50 lots have been acquired.  There are still seven lots to be acquired to complete the entire block.

The impediments to acquiring lots were as follows:

1.      It was difficult to trace the chain of title and determine who owned the lots.  Most of the lots were acquired by intestate succession.  (The Jubilee Project plans to recruit volunteer attorneys to prepare wills for residents so this problem is not perpetuated.) 

2.      It was difficult to find all known owners of each lot.  (e.g., one lot had at least 15 owners.  It took two years, two private search firms, the internet, and private detective to find the last owner who owned only 6%.)

3.      Some owners were suspicious that the land would be used for-profit purposes and not as a park.  One elderly lot owner, concerned about the earlier Fair Park land acquisition program, was convinced that Jubilee Park wanted to build a high-rise building. 

4.      Some owners lived on the property.  Jubilee required that the owner have a comparable or better space in which to move. This was in spite of the fact that their house might have been in dire need of repair and near condemnation.

(Today in Dallas there is a need for over 30,000 low-income houses.  The problem is not for younger families who have an income.  The big problem is with the elderly on welfare who live in terrible housing but cannot afford to go elsewhere. There are currently no programs available that can fund the full $60,000-$100,000 required to move them into other facilities.)

5.      One owner knew Jubilee needed his property to complete the park and could drive a very hard bargain.  We had to convince him to sell and at a price that would not bankrupt the budget.

The Park Improvements

After a significant number of lots were acquired, Jubilee started on park improvements.  The land was cleaned up, dead trees removed and pruned, and the open areas plowed. Snow Excavation did some of the removal.  However, the bulk of the work  was performed by Marvin Boldin, an African American who not only operated the heavy plowing and trash loading equipment but also tutored the kids in chess.  He removed at least sixteen, 30-cubic yard dumpsters filled with trash and debris.   He plowed the proposed ball field about ten times, each time uncovering more glass, pipe, and rock that could have posed a danger to the kids.

After the park was graded, Jubilee installed an underground sprinkler system that was donated by Telsco Industries.  Park lamps and special lighting for the basketball courts were given by Hossley Lighting Associates and were installed by Alman Electric.  Villanueva Ironworks installed a wrought iron fence around the entire perimeter and another minority contractor built the brick columns and entrance features.  The field was hydromulched, then specially hand-seeded with Bermuda seed, and finally pallets of mature grass planted on the high use areas.   Through other private donations, park benches and trash receptacles were added.  More recently, Tru-Green Landscaping is providing free fertilizing and weed control for the entire park.

The next step was to put facilities in the park.  Jubilee teamed with Nike Shoes and KaBOOM! to help build a children’s playground. Other private benefactors using minority contractors built four outdoor basketball courts.  More recently, Jubilee has worked with the Dallas Maverick Foundation, which will provide a Sports Court surface for the basketball courts.  In addition, Jubilee found an abandoned house next to the park that was slated for demolition.  Thanks to help from the City of Dallas, volunteers worked over two, hot July weekends in 1999 and literally saved the house from the jaws of the wrecking crew and turned it into the “Cross-town Cowboy Locker Room”.  A wonderful group of coaches donated athletic equipment for a Pop Warner football team that is stored in the “Locker Room”.  SunFest Security and A-All Pest Control provided free security and extermination service for the Locker Room and the Dallas Mavericks players did more fix up to the house.  Because of the heavy usage, other volunteers and another landscape firm planted more grass and shrubs.

Jubilee cannot thank Paul Dyer and his staff enough for all their help during the construction period.  They provided valuable advice on the sprinkler system, the type of grass to use, some of the pitfalls of park operation and countless other details.

Jubilee Park – Present and Future

The official Jubilee Park dedication ceremony took place September 22, 2000.  It was well attended by City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School District and other officials as well as neighbors and volunteers.  

The Jubilee Park seeks to serve as a focal point for the neighborhood and aid other functions of the Jubilee Project.  Since fall 1999, 120 young boys aged 8 to 13 practice football on the Jubilee Park field, encouraged by 75 young girl cheerleaders coached by almost 75-80 adults. Senior citizens, adults, and children come to the Jubilee Park for picnics, quiet time and recreation.  In the summer of 2001, Jubilee will offer soccer clinics, baseball clinics and other summertime playground activities for the kids. The Dallas Mavericks will be conducting a basketball clinic sometime in the fall. Teachers from the O.M. Roberts School routinely bring their children to the park for field trips.  The Science Place and Jubilee hope to team up and provide interesting outdoor events at the park.  More emphasis will be placed on activities for girls in the park.

Jubilee Park has received many testimonials from area residents saying that the park has been a catalyst to rejuvenate the entire neighborhood.  

The Dallas Police Department Central Division officers help with park security and ensure that the park is drug-free, alcohol-free and weapon-free.  A Jubilee Anti-Crime Task Force enlists cooperation from residents, business owners and police and code enforcement personnel.  Video cameras, installed in vulnerable locations, have reduced crime and increased protection for residents and business owners.  Crime in the Jubilee area is down 37% since 2002. an unprecedented number in the City of Dallas.  Using donated funds, Jubilee purchased a bar/night club and two drug houses in the community.  The buildings were razed and the negative elements removed.  At the demolition celebration in January of 2008, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppart stated that Jubilee Park & Community Center could be a model for replication in many other communities in Dallas.

Most recently, a corner of the Jubilee Park has been leased to another non-profit organization started by the church to aid the Jubilee Project’s educational outreach.  Davids' Place, named after the deceased son and husband respectively of the two principal donors, was built and opened as a Head Start school in January 2002.  The building, funded by the TI Foundation and the two donors, operates with federal Head Start funding.  Davids' Place Head Start Center is a premiere center in the Greater Dallas area.

Jubilee has been given a generous gift from T. Boone Pickens Foundation to build a new Community Resource Center and new Community Center.  The Jubilee Resource Center will house a Dallas Police Department sub-station, the Community Prosecutor's office and meeting space for the community.  The new Community Center will triple avaliable space for Jubilee programming allowing for the expansion of programs that will serve the growing need in the community.  Construction is underway with a completion date for both buildings in May 2009.

Community residents and business owners have responded with pride and commitment to the challenge of revitalizing their neighborhood, though the work is not done.  Jubilee has partnered with numerous service and program providers and greatly benefited from the generosity of many individuals and foundations.  Hundreds of volunteers have given tens of thousands of hours to the effort.  All have experienced the satisfaction of substantial progress in the revitalization of the community.  The spirit of Jubilee is reflected in those who live in, work in or care deeply about the Jubilee Park community.

In the future, Jubilee seeks to serve the wonderful people in the area by working behind the scenes and helping them improve the quality of life in their entire neighborhood.  Hopefully, the Jubilee Park will continue to be a significant, positive force in making that happen.