Park Cities Real Estate

The Park Cities area is composed of the affluent communities of Highland Park and University Park, is six square miles completely surrounded by the city of Dallas. This pair has a small-town feeling in the shadows of downtown Dallas skyscrapers. The commute for residents of the Park Cities to the center of downtown Dallas takes only about 7 minutes.

Although the Park Cities is a residential island, this area has its own municipal governments, its own public services (police department and fire department), and its own school district, Highland Park ISD, with seven schools and a total enrollment of 5,855.

University Park is on Interstate Highway 35E, U.S. Highway 75, and Loop 12 five miles north of downtown Dallas in central Dallas County, bordered by the city of Dallas on the north and east and Highland Park to the south. Its name originated because of its location adjacent to Southern Methodist University. SMU officially opened in 1915, and homes were built around the campus to house teachers and staff of the university.The major shopping area in University Park is Snider Plaza. The town of Highland Park is a 2.2-square-mile residential "island city" surrounded by Dallas on the south, east, and west and University Park on the north.

In 1945, the city of Dallas attempted to annex the cities of Highland Park and University Park, commonly referred to as the Park Cities, but was turned down by a narrow margin. After their refusal of a merger, Dallas used its home rule powers to annex territory adjacent to University Park, cutting off all land for expansion. University Park still relied on the city of Dallas for such services as water and sewage treatment, but in 1947 the Park Cities set up their own Water Control and Improvement District to take over these functions. Because it was surrounded by Dallas, University Park was prevented from annexing land for growth as most communities in Dallas County did, and its area remained 3.7 square miles.

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