High Oak Park Upgrades Improve Safety, Play, and Access for Families

Published on November 05, 2025

High Oak Park reopened in late June 2025 after a major renovation that expanded recreation options and improved neighborhood access. The 12-acre park at 2635 Wesley Drive now features a pair of new playgrounds, enhanced walking trails, and 20 solar-powered light bollards that improve visibility and safety for evening visitors.

Funded through the 2018 voter-approved bond program, the $776,000 project added age-appropriate play equipment for children 2–5 and 5–12, new benches and shade sails, a drinking fountain, and artificial turf surfacing that provides an accessible, safer play environment. Paved trail construction and lighting upgrades make it easier and more comfortable for nearby residents to enjoy the park throughout the day, while wildflower seeding and irrigation improvements enhance the landscape’s appearance and sustainability.

Design consultant Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. completed construction documents in November 2023. The City Council awarded the construction contract to C. Green Scaping, LP of Fort Worth in January 2025, with work completed on June 27, 2025.

The park site has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. Once home to the High Oak Terrace Apartments, a 132-unit complex built in 1970, the property was acquired by the City of Arlington in 2004 after the apartments failed city and federal inspections and the owners defaulted on their loan. The substandard complex was demolished using HUD funding, and after the housing market declined, the City and community shifted plans in 2011 to create a neighborhood park. Today, High Oak Park stands as a community success story—turning a once-blighted property into a safe, inviting, and well-lit space for families to gather and play.