The Downtown Deck Plaza will have a significant impact on the greater downtown area and across the region. The positive impacts of Deck Parks have been well-documented. A 2022 article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta describes the economic impact of Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, Texas. "Relative to its peers," the article states, "Dallas experienced faster office and multifamily construction growth after lid construction began in 2012. Dallas added 1.3 million square feet of office space, a rate that is 50 percent faster than what occurred in the six prior years. Multifamily housing (apartments and condominiums in buildings with 5 or more units) grew even faster. Dallas added nearly 5,300 individual multifamily units after starting the lid, more than twice as many units as the six years before. "
Deck Parks have also been able to leverage significant state and federal funding. Just this April, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $80 million in funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Reconnecting Communities program) for four deck parks in Dallas including the Southern Gateway Park, Klyde Warren Park, over the interstate near the Dallas Farmers Market, and State Highway 5 in McKinney.
Case Study: Klyde Warren Park, Dallas, Texas
Since its opening in 2012, Klyde Warren Park has seen an increase of $2.5 billion to $5.2 billion in Public Improvement District values from 2014 to 2019. Dallas went from having 500 residents in the greater Downtown area 20 years ago to 40,000 residents within a 2-mile radius of the park. The economic impact of the park has catalyzed an additional 2-acre expansion of the Klyde Warren Park. The 5.4-acre deck park over Woodall Rogers Freeway is now the #1 tourist attraction in the City of Dallas. The trees and vegetation in Klyde Warren Park were found to have captured 18,500 pounds of carbon dioxide and reduce stormwater drainage by 64.214 gallons each year.
Case Study: Austin Cap and Stitch Economic Impact Study
In May 2025, Austin City Council voted on a critical milestone: to commit funding that will future-proof the caps for I-35. The Austin Cap and Stich project is a community-centered initiative to create public spaces along the I-35 corridor that reconnects East and West Austin. Because the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)’s I-35 Capital Express Central project will lower the highway’s main lanes between Lady Bird Lake and Airport Boulevard, the City of Austin has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to construct “caps” and “stitches” over the highway, reconnecting the two sides of I-35 after decades of divide.
Combined, these opportunities could create up to 25 acres of regionally significant new public space in the middle of Central Austin.
Case Study: The Stitch, Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta "Stitch" project will create 14 acres of new park space for Downtown Atlanta. It is further estimated to generate 3,000-3,400 affordable housing units, 15-17% of the Mayor of Atlanta's citywide goal of 20,000 units. Nearly 90% of new development is expected to be residential. Proximity to transit and low-cost transportation options reduce the cost of living for low-income residents. The Stitch will improve sustainability of Downtown Atlanta by addressing flooding and mitigating noise and air quality issues, while broadly lowering emissions, increasing pedestrian and bicycle use, and incorporating innovative climate change mitigation strategies. The Stitch will create an estimated 800 construction jobs and 12,230 permanent jobs to be housed in the newly-constructed residential, office and hotel developments.
