Back in the day, a park just needed to have grass, trees, and a swingset or two. But new public parks in North Texas have gotten more and more innovative. (Just look at the plans for Southern Gateway Park, an engineering marvel coming to I-35 near The Dallas Zoo.) Now Frisco has an answer of its own 26 miles to the north—the 5.7 acre Kaleidoscope Park, slated to open in late 2023.
Formerly called Community Performance Park, the planned greenspace got its new name yesterday in an announcement from the city of Frisco and the Communities Foundation of Texas, which said Kaleidoscope Park “is poised to become one of the most innovative, inclusive, and programmed public greenspaces in North Texas.”
The park is now under construction near the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Parkway in Frisco’s HALL Park development—and is at the heart of many local attractions including The Star in Frisco, Legacy West, Stonebriar Centre, The Shops at Legacy, The Boardwalk, and Granite Park.
‘A premier gathering place’
Rendering: Kaleidoscope Park Foundation
Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney says the park will have many “creative programming possibilities.”
“It will be a premier gathering place where people can enjoy all sorts of arts and wellness activities,” Cheney said in a statement. “It’s bound to become a favorite among residents and visitors alike, whether they’re meeting up with friends and family or making new connections in the heart of HALL Park.”
Bringing distinct pieces together ‘to create a beautiful design’
Rendering: Kaleidoscope Park Foundation
Dr. Scott Stewart, the park’s executive director, shared the thinking behind the park’s name.
“Built into the name—Kaleidoscope Park—is the park’s core mission,” Stewart said in the statement. “Just as the kaleidoscope we played with as kids brings together separate and distinct pieces to create a beautiful design, Kaleidoscope Park will thoughtfully engage the diverse and rapidly growing communities across North Texas.”
Stewart said Kaleidoscope Park “will be a community park in the truest sense of the word,” bringing communities together “in a free, open, and accessible public space to enjoy, create, and inspire.”
Free weekly films and concerts, ‘technology terraces’ and more
Rendering: Kaleidoscope Park Foundation
So besides grass and trees, what else will it have? The city says the park will offer gardens, water features, shaded promenades, a dog park, and a children’s play area. The park’s design will also feature a performance pavilion, Wi-Fi-equipped “technology terraces,” and public art works including a permanent installation by fabric artist Janet Echelman.
Free year-round public programming will include weekly films and concerts, fitness and “well-being activities,” and a variety of performance and dance events, the city said.
Art work to feature engineered fiber 15 times stronger than steel
Rendering: Kaleidoscope Park Foundation
Echelman, the fabric artist, uses unusual materials including “atomized water particles” and an engineered fiber that’s 15 times stronger than steel, according to her website (which we recommend viewing). Her public art installations have become attractions on five continents—gracing places including Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Santiago, Beijing, Boston, New York, and London.
And soon, Frisco as well.
Supported by the Kaleidoscope Park Foundation
The park is owned by the city of Frisco, but its programming, operations, and maintenance will be overseen and supported by the Kaleidoscope Park Foundation, a nonprofit partner of Communities Foundation of Texas.
The park foundation’s board of directors will be led by former Texas senator and Plano resident Florence Sharpiro, who will serve as the board’s chairperson. The vice chairperson is Dave Scullin, president and CEO of the Communities Foundation of Texas. Other board members include Elizabeth Bull, retired former CFO at the Communities Foundation of Texas; Kymberley Scalia, VP of marketing for the HALL Group; Kim Butler, EVP for the HALL Group; Scott Boxer, who serves on the board of EnTouch Controls; and Wes Pierson, Frisco’s city manager.
HALL Park is getting a $7 billion ‘reimagining’
HALL Group is evolving its existing 15-building, 162-acre office park in Frisco into a mixed-used community with a new $7 billion master plan for the property.[Rendering: Courtesy HALL Park]
Last October, we wrote about Frisco’s 162-acre HALL Park development and its planned $7 billion “reimagining.”
Dallas-based developer HALL Group launched the redevelopment of HALL Park with a plan to expand Frisco’s largest workforce site—10,000+ workers are employed there—by adding 9 million-plus square feet of mixed-use additions, the company announced last fall.
Phase 1 of the redevelopment is a $500 million mixed-use project located adjacent to Kaleidoscope Park.
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