Community Collaboration: Roy Blunt Luminary Park Partnership Continues

By Ann Holliday, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives for the Downtown Council and Executive Director of the Art in the Loop Foundation

Last month was huge for the Roy Blunt Luminary Park Project. The City Council passed Ordinance No. 260718, locking in an extra $55 million so we can start building later this year. It’s an incredible step forward for both the park and Downtown Kansas City’s future!

This approval reflects extraordinary alignment across our public, private, and community partners and ongoing collaboration.  It’s amazing to see everyone on the same page—from Mayor Lucas and the City Council to the Missouri Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Port KC, and our regional corporate and civic leaders. Getting here took real teamwork across the board.

When we team up with city and state partners, great things happen. Luminary Park is going to give us all a wonderful new spot to gather, complete with green spaces, native trees, local art, and opportunities for small businesses.

We’re focusing on what matters most: better infrastructure, safer streets, greener environments, and a place to hang out together. No single group could pull this off alone. Everyone is pitching in—project managers, designers, engineers, builders, communicators, community representatives and fundraising partners are all working side by side to make this vision a reality.

I’d love to thank every single person who’s helped along the way, though I’m terrified I’d accidentally leave someone out!

I’m humbled by the creativity, intelligence, and thoughtfulness shared by the team members and look forward to our future work together, building a new legacy for our city.

Thanks so much,
Ann