Cleanup Continues at Hensley Field, ‘Definitive Answers’ Expected by June

We haven’t heard much about Hensley Field since the City of Dallas took legal action against the U.S. Navy In August 2023, but we were encouraged to see a photo on social media earlier this month showing members of the City’s Economic Development staff touring the site. 

“The best meetings take place in a Chinook,” Economic Development Director Robin Bentley wrote on LinkedIn. “Thank you to the Texas Military Department for a lovely afternoon discussing the future of Hensley Field.” 

So what exactly is the future of Hensley Field, a 700-acre site in Southern Dallas’ District 3 where a City-approved master plan calls for more than 6,800 new homes?

Bentley promptly responded to an email from CandysDirt.com seeking comment but referred questions about the Hensley Field Master Plan and legal matters to the City Attorney’s Office. 

Dallas Takes Legal Action Against U.S. Navy Over Contamination at Hensley Field

Nobody’s Talking About Hensley Field

It seems like nobody wants to talk about Hensley Field. 

City Attorney Tammy Palomino didn’t respond to CandysDirt.com’s request for comment. 

Interim Communications Director Jennifer Brown said she’d review the matter and get back to us. A week later, we hadn’t heard back. Economic Development Corporation board president John Stephens did not reply to a request for comment. 

U.S. Navy Public Affairs Officer R. Bill Franklin told CandysDirt.com last year that the Navy “does not comment on matters of pending litigation.” We reached out to Franklin again last week and did not receive a reply. 

District 3 Councilman Zarin Gracey represents the Hensley Field area. When reached for comment Friday, Gracey said no one is talking because there’s not a whole lot to report. 

“We’re still in the process of trying to get the area cleaned up and I think we’re getting pretty close to that,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have some definitive answers by June. I don’t think there’s anything to hide or anything like that. We’ve been working closely with [the Navy] to get that resolved. We’re all working together.” 

Environmental Remediation

The U.S. Navy leased the property at the border of Dallas and Grand Prairie from the City of Dallas in 1949 to operate Naval Air Station Dallas. They closed the base 50 years later and returned the property to the city. 

At that time, environmental contamination existed, “consistent with other U.S. military installations,” according to the city. 

The city filed suit in 2001 and reached a settlement the following year, which mandated the U.S. Navy complete environmental remediation by 2017. 

“That deadline was not met,” according to a statement issued last summer. “While the Navy has made progress and continues to work with the City, the Navy must fulfill its obligation to complete the remediation.”

Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said at the time that he was appreciative of the remediation efforts that occurred over the past 20 years. 

“We are confident that we can reach an agreement on the final phase of the project that ensures Hensley Field can be safely developed into a premier community offering mixed-income housing, recreation, commercial space, and more,” Broadnax said at the time. “We will continue these productive discussions with the U.S. Navy and remain focused on reaching a consensual agreement.” 

The subject of Hensley Field arose briefly during an April 1 meeting of the Parks, Trail, and Environment Committee, chaired by District 10 Councilwoman Kathy Stewart. 

Lori Wilson, director of the Office of Environmental Quality, said Hensley Field was one of the first projects she was assigned to when OEQ was formed in 2006. Wilson said later during the presentation that Hensley Field remains a priority. 

City officials have said they can’t move forward with the master-planned community until the Navy completes environmental remediation. 

Hensley Field Master Plan

In addition to much-needed housing, the Hensley Field Master Plan calls for restaurants, entertainment venues, and a marina on the adjacent Mountain Creek Lake. 

“What Hensley Field represents to me is tremendous untapped potential,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a promotional video on the master plan website.

“We have an opportunity to make something beautiful at this location,” former Councilman Casey Thomas said during a December 2022 council meeting. “It’s almost like a blank canvas.” 

The master plan calls for: 

• A Walkable, Mixed-Use Community with over 3.7 million square feet of commercial and institutional uses and 6,800 residential units.
• An Interconnected Network of Open Spaces comprising more than 25 percent of the site area and placing every resident within a five-minute walk of a park or public space.
• A Strong Orientation to Mountain Creek Lake, introducing waterfront trails, a new marina, and water-oriented recreational uses that reinforce the destination appeal of the site.
• Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of key buildings and facilities, and interpretive site elements that celebrate the military and pre-military heritage of the site.
• A Multi-Modal Transportation System with links to Dallas’ transit network, provision of protected bikeways, slow mobility corridors, and a strong pedestrian orientation. 
• Net-Zero Construction and the Maximization of Renewable Energy Sources including the creation of a 40-acre Innovation Village on the Runway Peninsula, demonstrating state-of-the-art technologies and sustainability practices. 
• A Diversity of Housing Choices in a Mixed-Income Community with a complete range of housing types, 30 percent of which will provide for long-term affordability to qualified applicants.