New timeline, budget announced for Roy Blunt Luminary Park

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City’s long-planned Roy Blunt Luminary Park – a five-acre green space that will cap a stretch of Interstate 670 – is moving forward, though the timeline has shifted well past its original goal.

The project was once slated to finish before the 2026 World Cup.

City officials now say concrete work will start after the tournament and take about three years, putting the opening possibly in 2029.

The park would run from Bartle Hall to the former Kansas City Star printing press, reconnecting neighborhoods long divided by the highway and quieting a corridor that’s been carrying traffic since the 1960s.

“It creates a peaceful oasis in the middle of an otherwise, you know, concrete jungle,” said Downtown Council Chairman Gib Kerr.

Funding has been a big hurdle. So far, a little over $220 million is committed from federal, state, city, and private donors, with more support expected.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have great support at the federal level, the state level, the city level, and with incredible private sector partners, and they’ve stepped up, and every day, more of them are stepping up,” Kerr said.

The City Council is set to vote on 100 percent of the funding behind the final design plan during a meeting on October 2.

The full budget, including engineering, project management, and other costs, has increased, according to Kansas City Assistant City Manager Jeff Martin. The last projection was $217 million.

“Our total project budget right now is $315 million, so that includes the construction cost as well as the cost for the engineering, the project management, all the ancillary support functions within that as well,” Martin said.

For people who live and work nearby, the park can’t come soon enough.

“People’s brains are being rotted from their too much screen time, so a little bit of fresh air in the middle of the city is going to be very refreshing,” said Chet Duvenci, owner of Mercy Seat Tattoo Parlor, located a block from the future site.

Even with construction years away, Duvenci sees value in taking the time to get it right.

“Maybe it’s better that we don’t start until after the World Cup, if they seem pretty confident that they won’t be able to be finished by then,” Duvenci said. “The taxpayers aren’t going to have to pay anything. We’re just going to be able to enjoy this park. Finally, big business is doing something good that benefits everybody.”

Pre-construction utility work will begin earlier, but city officials said they’ll avoid major disruptions to traffic before the World Cup.