150 foot-tall ‘fancy Ferris wheel’ will soon start rising near downtown Kansas City
Kansas City has seen a lot of changes in its skyline in the last decade.
Several new skyscrapers have gone up in the downtown area adding to the city’s signature profile.
Another change to the skyline is coming very soon but this time it’s not a skyscraper.
ICON Experiences unveiled their plans Wednesday to open KC Wheel, a 150-foot tall observation wheel at Pennway Point, a proposed entertainment venue at West 25th and Pennway Streets in Kansas City.
“I call it a fancy Ferris wheel,” said Karen Wilder, ICON’s vice president and general manager. During a media event Wednesday, overlooking the site, Wilder explained that KC Wheel will feature 36 enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas and one VIP gondola.
It is wheelchair accessible and fully-loaded. The wheel is capable of carrying a maximum of 216 people during the rides which will last about 12 to 15 minutes and go around 3 to 5 times.
“Any kind of weather, you can come down and enjoy seeing your city,” said Wilder. She said the observation wheel will operate daily, except is some cases of extreme ice and lightning. Visitors can expect stunning panoramic views of Kansas City.
Construction of the wheel’s foundation is complete. It sits just off of 25th Street, east of Interstate 35, near West Pennway.
“Every day different components of the wheel are arriving,” said Wilder. “Over the next few weeks, you will start to see components going vertical, so the legs will go up, the axle will be placed,” she said. “Then the whole structure of the round wheel, the spokes and the main beam will go in,” she said.
Hundreds of thousands of LED lights will be installed on the wheel and the system will be capable of creating millions of different color combinations. ‘We can use them (the lights) to celebrate sports teams, we can use them to celebrate colors for community events,” said Wilder. “We also can do personal events like gender reveals or engagement packages.”
The company operates The Capital Wheel in Washington D.C., and The St. Louis Wheel in St. Louis, which are similar to the wheel being built in Kansas City.
“We see hundreds of thousands of visitors every year,” said Wilder. “So on peak days, we can do 4000 people a day or more.”
Construction is expected to be complete this fall. KC Wheel plans to open before the end of the year.
The company also plans add to build Pennway Putt, a family-friendly miniature golf course, and Wheel House, a place for food, drinks and sweets. Wilder said she expected the KC Wheel site to be fully developed by early 2024.
Pennway Point is a proposed six-acre development by Vince Bryant of 3D Development. It is located on the the old Carter-Waters industrial site.