Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation Receives $520,000 Grant for Sylvia Bailey Park Development
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation has been awarded a $520,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to support the first phase of development at Sylvia Bailey Park, located at 1800 SE Ranson Road, approximately one mile south of U.S. Highway 50. The Land and Water Conservation Fund grant is administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks and funded federally through the National Park Service.
The grant will help fund several key elements of the park’s first phase, including a farm-themed playground, trails, a community garden and portions of the parking area. Plans for the park also include an event space and a visitor center. Phase one of the Sylvia Bailey Park development is estimated at $3,225,500. In addition to the $520,000 federal grant, Lee’s Summit will provide a local match of $2,705,500 toward the project.
“This grant is an important step toward bringing the vision for Sylvia Bailey Park to life,” said Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation Administrator Joe Snook. “The property has a special history in Lee’s Summit, and we want the park to acknowledge and share that history while creating a place the community can enjoy for generations.”
Sylvia Bailey Park encompasses approximately 49.6 acres that were bequeathed to the City of Lee’s Summit by Sylvia Mae Bailey in 2000. The property was once part of the historic Bailey Farm, and the gift has been described by the City as the largest ever made to Lee’s Summit and one of the largest in the community’s history. Plans for the property are designed to celebrate and educate its agricultural heritage while creating new opportunities for recreation, education and community gathering. The farm-themed design elements, community garden and trails will help connect the future park to the history of the Bailey property while creating a new destination in southeast Lee’s Summit.
Additional information about the Sylvia Bailey Park project will be shared as plans move forward.