‘Green urban playground’ may bring Ferris wheel, outdoor theater to Kansas City
A new entertainment district, complete with a Ferris wheel, outdoor movie theater and sand volleyball courts, could be coming to Kansas City.
Pennway Point, a vision dreamed up by 3D Development, is still in the proposal stages, but the local developer hopes to bring a new venue to the southeast corner of the Westside North neighborhood, across the street from the Crossroads, next year.
Advertised as “a green urban playground,” the space could also include a beer garden, brewery, space for yard games, grill station, dog park, pickle ball courts, Bocce court and a couple hundred parking spaces, according to a brochure laying out an early vision of the plan.
Erik Wullschleger, a partner with 3D Development, said the exact plans are still evolving, but they hope to switch from deconstruction to construction on the property in the coming months. They’ve set their sights set on an early 2023 opening date.
For the past nine months, teams have been cleaning up and clearing out the Carter-Waters industrial site, a series of old buildings that sit on Jefferson Street, north of West 25th Street, nestled between Broadway Boulevard and Interstate 35.
“These buildings were really cool, unique and deserve better than just being scraped to the ground,” Wullschleger said of the buildings, including the four-story Carter-Waters building, which were constructed in the early and mid-1900s.
One of the aspects Wullschleger is most excited about? The possibility of a 200-foot Ferris wheel.
As observation wheels become increasingly trendy in large cities like St. Louis, Wullschleger said the developers are looking to enhance Kansas City’s skyline with one of their own.
The vision is to give riders a 360-degree view of Pennway Park, downtown and the Interstate 35 corridor.
“There’s just not a better place in town to be 170 feet up in the air looking at our beautiful city,” Wullschleger said.
While nothing is set in stone yet, Wullschleger said they’re keeping the city apprised of the plans on the property, which is currently zoned as an industrial manufacturing site.
For the past few decades, the site has generated between $18,000 and $20,000 in tax revenues to the city, he said. But with a new entertainment space, Wullschleger said they hope to significantly increase how much income the site generates for the city. An estimated project cost has not yet been made public.
“It’s gonna be a rebirth of a site that really needs some imagination,” Wullschleger said. “We’re excited about that.”
Editor’s note: A quote in this story has been corrected to accurately reflect the height of the observation wheel. The story has also been updated to reflect a new opening date goal of early 2023.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 1:27 PM.
