At ground level, the station has entrances (dubbed "portals") on both sides of North Central Expressway.

Early plans for the station called for an additional set of entrances to the north of Haskell Avenue, which would connect to the northern end of the rail platforms.

The walls of the rail platforms depict local fossils, artifacts from the nearby Freedman's Cemetery, and the Texas Electric Railway system that previously connected Dallas to Denison.

[4][6] In late 1983, developer Southland Corporation announced plans for Cityplace, a 130-acre (0.53 km2) mixed-use project, the centerpiece of which would be two office towers connected by a pedestrian bridge.

An investigation by The Dallas Morning News found secret negotiations between DART, Cityplace, and the Dallas municipal government that would make the rezoning contingent on Cityplace paying for the station (as well as road and utility improvements), which was viewed as illegal contract zoning.

[10] After the investigation, DART ultimately settled on a compromise site between Haskell and Lemmon, which caused Cityplace to retract its payment offer.

[2] In early 2001, the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) received a $2.5 million grant to extend its heritage streetcar line to Cityplace station.