New Kansas City project will build 10 inclusive parks for kids with disabilities
Katy Shepherd was met with tears Tuesday when nonprofit VarietyKC announced a move that will impact many children across Kansas City — including her daughter, Mila.
VarietyKC announced the Ten Parks Project, a $30 million initiative that will birth 10 play spaces across the metro that are inclusive for children with disabilities. The money is from Peter and Veronica Mallouk of the Mallouk Family Foundation, which represents 80% of the total investment.
Taking place on the 11th floor at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the announcement came with a panel featuring Mayor Quinton Lucas, Variety KC CEO Marc Harrell, President & CEO of the downtown council of KC Bill Dietrich, as well as the Mallouks.
The first inclusive play space that was announced was Roy Blunt Luminary Park, which was announced last year as the official name of the South Loop Project. The project is being built over Interstate 670, reconnecting downtown to the Crossroads and beyond after it was cut off by highway construction decades ago.
Luminary Park is part of a combined $427 million investment in downtown Kansas City’s Barney Allis Plaza development, covering over 10 acres of green space.
VarietyKC has previously created inclusive playgrounds at parks in Leawood, Raymore, Bonner Springs, as well as two Kansas City playgrounds. Some of the new parks will have a groundbreaking this year, with the goal of having some of them open by 2027.
“What we are doing today will change Kansas City forever. Most parks in this region are not built for kids with disabilities, and that’s not an oversight. That’s a design choice,” Harrell said. “It is a commitment that every child of every ability will be fully included in that play experience. Not accommodated off to the side, but actually included.”
The Mallouk Family Foundation supports organizations that promote human dignity and inclusion. Peter Mallouk is CEO of Creative Planning, an Overland Park wealth management company. He also owns a majority stake in Sporting KC and a minority stake in the Royals.
“We want (Kansas City) to be a leading example of being inclusive. What we love about it is it’s going to make everyone feel welcome at every major playground in the area, and it’s going to be an example to all the other cities in the United States of what’s possible,” Peter Mallouk said.
Renderings of the parks were displayed at the event, which included a look at Roy Blunt Luminary Park, which is set to have a play tower Harrell said would be “the most iconic feature” in the park. Between four blocks over Interstate 670, Luminary Park will take up part of one block and all of the second block.
In the crowd at the announcement was Shepherd, who said Mila has a heart-related disability. Shepherd recalled times when her family went to the park, and she had to sit with her daughter while Shepherd’s son was playing, because the park didn’t accommodate for children with disabilities.
Now, the family will have multiple park options to make sure Mila is always included.
“She can actually do things with her peers, and it allows my son to play with her, and it allows his friends and her friends to play together. And also with the (VarietyKC) park, you would see other families that are similar to yours, and we’re not so isolated,” Shepherd told The Star.
During his panel, Lucas recognized some of the families during his panel, telling Shepherd, “You almost wrecked me during this presentation.”
“It’s amazing that Kansas City as a whole is striving to be inclusive. To be inclusive, it means to literally include everybody, intentionally, and with thought and consideration for whatever it is,” Shepherd said. “Everybody needs to be aware that these kids, no matter who they are, every kid brings joy and love into this world. It’s great that variety and the city is on board with that and including them.”
Harrell told The Star that Luminary Park will likely be the last of the 10 inclusive play spaces to open, due to Interstate 670 being turned into a tunnel between Wyandotte Street and Grand Boulevard. He said that the goal is to have all 10 parks completed in the next five years, and to have kids playing as soon as possible.
