The Dean Highland Neighborhood Association is an advocate for a vast city park to be created in the empty space where the old Hillcrest hospital was located.
We envision this park being the crown jewel of the City of Waco’s excellent collection of parks and recreation areas. The location of Dean Highland gives this envisioned crown jewel its essence. The star in the top right corner of the map below shows you where Dean Highland is located within Waco and just how central it is to city life, and the outlined portion of the map shows you where the empty lot is located:
Dean Highland is in the middle of the City of Waco. The police department’s towering office sits adjacent to the highlighted empty lot.
We have gone to the media with our concerns and complaints. We have dug into the historical archives (many thanks to the staff of Baylor University’s Texas Collection, which is open to the public, for their help) of the neighborhood and found that the donors of the land where the empty parking lot and the adjacent police tower sit, called for it to be set aside for the public good.
The Waco Tribune-Herald has featured our advocacy in front page stories twice: once in 2022 and again just recently in 2026. The President of Baylor, Scott, and White (the organization that currently owns the land) has met with us after the neighborhood association penned an open letter (which you can read here) voicing our concerns and complaints about the status of the empty lot.
We have also had our advocacy featured in a story by the Waco Bridge (here is a link to the story), and on the evening news at KCEN 6 News (you can watch the segment here).
We continue to work with Baylor, Scott, & White, the City of Waco, and others in order to bring this dream to fruition. We cannot, however, do it without your support. Please, consider becoming a member of the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association today.
You can also voice your concerns, complaints, and comments to our city council representative, Darius Ewing. His email address is ccouncil4@wacotx.gov.