University Park

Welcome to University Park

University Park, home to SMU, boasts the same upscale advantages as its slightly older, wealthier sibling, Highland Park. This community offers walkability, outstanding schools, an easy-to-reach location, tree-lined streets, a strong sense of community, a wide variety of places to worship and opportunities to connect with neighbors. University Park has an excellent reputation for safety, with its own fire and police department, providing prompt and personal attention to requests for services, and it maintains crime rates among the lowest in the area. Family focused, the nationally recognized Highland Park Independent Schools, and an abundance of  parks and practice fields with kids playing everything from lacrosse to flag football, this is an ideal and safe place to raise children. Homes in University Park range from quaint cottage styles to large estates—all located within blocks of great shopping and dining.

What to Love

Shopping & Dinning:

• Snider Plaza - located across from SMU & surrounded by neighborhoods, this family friendly shopping center opened in 1927 and still has great local appeal with dozens of charming boutiques and beloved restaurants covering 3 blocks.
• The Plaza at Preston Center - siting on the north edge of University Park this bustling shopping plaza is home to a premier collection of boutiques and restaurants.

Parks:

• There are 12 parks located throughout University Park for the residents to enjoy!
• Curtis Park may be the most visited from all the residence because it has something for everyone; tennis courts, a baseball diamond, picnic facilities, fishing pond and home to the Holmes Aquatic Center with a 50 meter swimming pool with diving boards, slides and a “spray-ground” for the little ones.
• The Katy Trail is a paved, 12-foot wide path that travels 3.5 miles through the heart of the city.

Museums:

• Meadows Museum - houses one of the largest and comprehensive collections of Spanish art outside of Spain and located on the SMU campus.
• George W. Bush Presidential Library and Institute - over 14,000 square feet of exhibit space full of artifacts, documents and interactive components that capture the key decisions and events of the George W. Bush Presidency including a full size replica of the Oval Office and a 20 foot tall, 360 degree HD video wall!

The Location:

• Only five short miles from Downtown and with several major highways in close proximity, University Park is conveniently situated at the center of all that Dallas has to offer.

The Architecture:

• You will find several homes inspired by the SMU campus in Georgian style as well as Spanish, Mediterranean, and clean-lined contemporaries.  This neighborhood is home to a range of styles and sizes from cottages to stunning mansions in the highly sought-after Volk Estates surrounded by parks and Turtle Creek running through the neighborhood.
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Schools

• Highland Park ISD:
  • New & Renovated Facilities - the district is transforming schools into educational centers designed to empower you learners for the next century with new and renovated schools all to be completed in 2020.
  • Elementary Schools - three of the four elementary school have new buildings providing the students larger classrooms, more room to play, and the latest technology to support both teaching and learning.
  • The new school building are for University Park, Bradfield and Hyer Elementary. Armstrong was renovated.
    
    
• Upper Schools - the elementary schools come together for the upper grades with 5th & 6th grades at McCullock Intermediate School, 7th and 8th grades at Highland Park Middle School, and 9th-12th grades at Highland Park High School.
  • All three upper schools are being renovated as well.
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• US News ranks Highland Park high school as one of the top schools in Texas.
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• Southern Methodist University:
  • Located on the east side of University Park on 234 acres, SMU has nearly 12,000 students and offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities with degree programs through seven schools. The mustang spirit is felt throughout the community.