South Loop park project likely to be built in phases due to funding
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — City leaders hope to have a unique park for visitors to attend by the time the World Cup comes to Kansas City, but the park is unlikely to be complete by that point according to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
As the city works to secure federal, state and private dollars for the estimated $217 million project, it will likely be built in phases.
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Meredith Ware owns Warehouse Salon overlooking the South Loop on Walnut Street. She says downtown development is a frequent conversation in the salon.
“I’d say the majority of people are looking forward to adding to Kansas City and seeing it grow,” Ware said.
After voters rejected a sales tax to help fund a downtown baseball stadium a block to the east, the closest planned development is directly over the highway next to her business, a planned four-block park capping I-670 between Wyandotte and Grand.
“While we don’t have mountains, or some of the other things a lake or an ocean, I think this becomes this type of space that helps us sell Kansas City even better,” Mayor Lucas said.
Kansas City was awarded $28.6 million from the state last fiscal year and similar funds are in this year’s budget. When combined with federal funding and about $25 million in private donations, more than $100 million are available for the project currently according to the mayor.
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“We’re probably looking to build block by block. Right now it looks like we could probably build your first two blocks, that would start at Bartle Hall capping that first stretch, so pretty soon if you are on Baltimore, you can see a very different type of environment,” Lucas explained.
That could mean no planned food hall or performance pavilion pictured in preliminary renderings in a two block area east of Main Street right away. Mayor Lucas thinks the smaller parks will still wow visitors and investors as they seek an additional $50 million privately and $75 million in federal funding according to documents presented to Kansas City’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee Tuesday.
“I think much like you’ve seen with our initial streetcar line all it does is blossoms even more growth. It blossoms more opportunity to say this is really something good for Kansas City and we have found a very receptive business community in downtown Kansas City,” Lucas said.
While excited, Ware, the salon owner, said she also hopes city leaders prioritize keeping the park safe and secure.
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In March there were renderings put out by the Royals that would have extended that park even beyond Grand with a bridge connecting a stadium rejected by voters to T-Mobile Center.
“The Royals conversation doesn’t hinder or materially alter the project we were doing, this project existed prior to those conversations, it will exist whether someone looks to build a stadium east of that site or not, we will still build the 670 bridge cap,” Lucas said.
Lucas expects the project to break ground in the spring of 2025.
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