Construction is underway at Discovery Park. Here’s what you’ll find in development

An approximately $1 billion mixed-use development is taking shape near Northeast Colbern Road and Northeast Douglas Street in Lee’s Summit. The 268-acre project features three phases and will include around 3.9 million square feet of retail, office, entertainment and hospitality spaces.

“The project has a heavy emphasis on quality materials, landscaping, amenities, walkability and public spaces,” said Michael L. VanBuskirk, vice chairman and principal at Newmark Zimmer.

Newmark Zimmer, a commercial real-estate company, is working with Intrinsic Development on the project.

A groundbreaking for the project, bordered on the south by I-470, took place in late 2023. The three phases include The Village, with buildings currently under construction and scheduled for completion throughout 2025 and into early 2026; The Crossings, with construction beginning this year for an anticipated 2026 delivery; and the Promenade, currently in the planning and design phase.

The Village features 80,400 square feet of retail and office space, as well as 585 apartments, an athletic club with a pool and a 4-acre recreational lake for kayaking and paddle boarding. Two hotels — Towneplace Suites by Marriott and Home2 Suites by Hilton — are included in this phase. Site work at The Village is complete with buildings going up now. The lake is constructed, and the hotels are scheduled to be finished in early 2026.

Apartments included in The Village will include amenities like an 8,000-square-foot athletic club, a sauna and steam room, a dog wash station, a resort-style pool, swim-up pool bar and assigned garage parking. More than 5 miles of nature trails are within walking distance.

Site work is underway for The Crossings, a combination of restaurant, retail, entertainment and offices with a more traditional building design. Construction of buildings will start this year and finish up in 2026.

The final component, The Promenade, will feature a river walk, said VanBuskirk, as well as additional restaurant, retail, entertainment, multi-family housing and office space in mixed-use buildings. Also included in this phase is the Discovery Hotel, offering a boutique-style lodging experience.

Plans call for the potential of additional hotels in later phases depending on market demand, he added.

Several tenants have already committed to the multi-use development.

“In The Village, we have announced Yoga Six, Woodfire Pizza and Brews, Woofs Stay and Play and Crown Veterinary Services,” VanBuskirk said, adding that negotiations are taking place with many other tenants.

As construction continues at Discovery Park, opportunities for lot leasing are available along with building leasing space.

“Intrinsic Development’s goal is to create a unique eco-system to meet the needs of not only the residents of Lee’s Summit, but the entire Kansas City metro area,” VanBuskirk added. “To accomplish that we are focused on a combination of local, destination restaurants and retailers as well as unique and new-to-market national operators.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.