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Downtown Market Plaza

Conceptual Plan

A conceptual plan for the Downtown Market Plaza has been developed as a result of planning meetings held between the City, Downtown Community Improvement District and Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street leaders. Conceptually, the plan includes the following proposed uses:

  • permanent three-season market pavilion
  • 30-40 room boutique hotel
  • mixed-use commercial building for possible restaurant or office opportunities
  • outdoor performance area built upon the availability of Green Street and the City Hall Plaza
  • multi-story apartment complex
  • gateway/courtyard to welcome the public to the market pavilion

In conjunction with the above amenities, significant public infrastructure improvements regarding street construction, streetscape, stormwater management, and utilities would need to be a part of the investment.

Conceptual Design Renderings

How Did We Get Here?

In April 2013, Lee’s Summit voters approved a $2,898,000 general obligation bond for the purpose of constructing and rehabilitating public improvements for cultural arts, including improvements to the Legacy Park Amphitheater, rehabilitating the former post office/city hall building, and the creation of a downtown performance and festival space. 

The proposed improvements were based on the 2007 Cultural Arts Plan and 2012 Cultural Facilities Master Plan. These projects were also supported by goals in the Quality of Life Key Performance Area of the strategic visioning document LS360: Charting Tomorrow, and the Mayor’s Cultural Facilities Task Force. 

The initial proposed location of the downtown performance and festival space was limiting and there was a desire by the downtown merchants to combine this amenity with a permanent farmers market pavilion (also recommended in the 2004 Downtown Master Plan). An alternate site near Southeast Green Street and Southeast Third Street was selected and the City began the process of assembling property that will allow a combination of private investments and public facilities/space that could meet several goals of the 2004 Downtown Master Plan.

Funding for the project will come from the remaining bond balance, proceeds set aside from the sale of surplus properties, a partnership with the Downtown Community Improvement District and potential private investment.

What's Next?

City Council approved a development structure agreement during its meeting on April 20, 2021, naming LANE4 Property Group as the master developer of the project and Biederman Redevelopment Ventures as the manager. On January 4, 2022, City Council approved an amended development structure agreement naming GLMV Architecture as the master architect of the project. 

Preliminary design efforts will begin immediately on the mixed-use project, followed by a public input process on the various concepts. The preliminary master plan will consist of public and private components. Conceptual public components include a permanent farmers market, flexible indoor space, outdoor performance and festival area, art and water features, and pedestrian areas. Conceptual private components could include a boutique hotel, multi-family residential complex, retail and restaurant. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The Master Planning process is complete and schematic designs are currently in development. The project is advancing on an aggressive schedule and the design phase is anticipated to be completed by late spring 2023. GLMV is serving as the master architect for the project.  

The vacant buildings located on Green Street will be demolished to accommodate both public and private development. Demolition and environmental remediation of these buildings is expected to occur in late fall 2023.

City employees conducted site visits with SCS Engineers and GLMV to identify items of significance related to the Ice House and to evaluate the practicality of salvaging materials for potential reuse within the project. After extensive evaluations, it was determined that, unfortunately, the majority of the limestone material cannot withstand paint removal and has limited application for exterior site improvements in other areas of the project. A minimal amount of stone and wood materials will be salvaged from the building with the intention of incorporating those materials as part of an interior public art/interpretive display within the Farmers Market.

Site work and utility relocation are expected to begin in late fall 2023 with the goal to open the Farmers Market in spring 2025. The public components, including the Farmers Market, performance venue, and City Hall plaza redevelopment will all be constructed at the same time. 

There have been multiple public engagement opportunities and design charrettes dating back to 2013. Stakeholder groups have been involved with the process and will continue to be involved throughout the design. The project will have several updates at City Council meetings, as well as public hearings before both the Planning Commission and City Council. 

 

 The City has gathered public input through a variety of opportunities throughout the project’s early and current stages of design, development and programming potential.

As the project moves forward, public input will begin to focus on gathering feedback on programming and public art. The City will notify the public of such engagement opportunities when they become available through social media, email announcements and by posting on this webpage. The Advisory Committee of the Redevelopment Corporation will coordinate the strategy and process for gathering additional public input.

 Yes. The City’s Cultural Arts Division and Cultural Commission will be responsible for overseeing the integration of 2D and 3D public art into the project design. A public art plan will coincide with project development ensuring that appropriate design and specifications will complement installations of art. The project is anticipated to include a range of public art consisting of murals and locations for both permanent and temporary public art. An artist selection committee will be formed in the summer 2023 to draft Calls to Artists and to begin identifying qualified artists and artist concepts.  

The project is designed with programming at the forefront. The City has contracted with Biederman Redevelopment Ventures (BRV), a leading national expert in placemaking and public space programming, to assist the City and community stakeholders in developing a public facility that is intentionally designed for multi-purpose flexibility. Having a deep understanding of potential programs and operations early in the design process will help ensure the facility can be utilized for a wide variety of activities by a variety of user groups.  

The overall budget will continue to be refined throughout the design process. At this time, the total cost of the public components of the project (Farmers Market Pavilion, outdoor performance space, and City Hall Plaza redevelopment) is estimated at approximately $23.5 million. 

Funding for the project will come from a variety of sources including approximately $600,000 from the 2013 bond project, $4,120,000 from the Downtown CID, and approximately $15.8 million from previous and potential future allocations from the City Council. The City is also seeking an additional state partnership of approximately $3 million. The City is also evaluating the range of options that may be available for obtaining private philanthropic contributions, sponsorships and grants.  

The schedule for the private components is currently unknown. The total private investment is currently unknown but is estimated to be over $90 million.