The $1.2 million dollars in improvements are part of a $30 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative program.
KC Parks, City officials, neighborhood leaders, and Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School students celebrated October 18th with a ribbon cutting improvements to Independence Plaza Park in Historic Northeast KCMO.
The park is one of the most historically significant parks in our system–built on the very first boulevard in Kansas City.
Independence Plaza is an unusual park. It is divided into two parts – one segment on the north side of Independence Boulevard and the other just across the street on the south side. It is a small but mighty park with a combined size of just 1.73 acres.
Improvements were made to both sides of the park that include:
- A new universally accessible playground for children regardless of their degree of mobility.
- An active gathering/programmable green space for families.
- A futsal court, Pickleball courts, and walking trail on the South side.
- And fencing and LED lighting enhancements on both sides of the park.
The $1.2 million dollars of improvements to the park were funded partially by Council District 3 PIAC and included in a $30 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development via the Choice Neighborhoods initiative.
A new public art installation is also part of the improvements. Three glass art panels created by artist Hasna Sal were funded by the Independence Avenue CID/Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
KC Parks Project Manager: Scott Overbay
General Contractor: Gunter Construction (WBE)
Sub Contractors:
Play Equipment – Kompan
Musical Equipment – ABCreative
Swings – Athco Landscape Structures
Playground Surfacing- SofSURFACES
Mound Synthetic Grass- FieldTurf Commercial
Futsal Court- McConnell Associates
Concrete- RGS (MBE)
Concrete- Crenshaw (HUD)
Stone Columns- Heartland Architectural Stone
Seeding- Erosion Specialist (MBE)
Lighting- WITEC (MBE)
Fencing- Collins & Hermann
Clean It All- (HUD)
Plumbing-Rodriguez Mechanical
Stone Mason- Arrow Masonry
Independent Contractors:
PCC Sports- Pickleball Courts
MarkOne- Electrical
Leath & Sons-Fountain Removal
Broski Fence- Futsal Court Fencing