Kansas City officials celebrated the official start of demolition and construction for the new Barney Allis Plaza and Garage at a groundbreaking and news conference held on Tuesday, June 26, 2024. Current and former Kansas City council members, area community and business leaders, participants of previous public engagement committees, and the project team gathered on top of the plaza to share remarks and move ceremonial dirt.
The Barney Allis Plaza Redevelopment Project, led by the City of Kansas City in collaboration with McCownGordon Construction, HOK, and other vital stakeholders, will transform the plaza into a vibrant urban space that serves as a community focal point and a symbol of Kansas City’s innovative spirit. The future street-level plaza is reimagined as the front porch to Kansas City, welcoming visitors and residents alike to the heart of downtown with a thriving, arts-focused greenspace.
Speakers included Mayor Quinton Lucas, 4th District at Large Councilman Crispin Rea, 4th District Councilman Eric Bunch, 1st District at Large Councilman Kevin O’Neill, 6th District at Large Councilwoman Andrea Bough, City Manager Brian Platt, Chris Vaeth Senior Vice President with McCownGordon Construction, and Business Manager Ralph Oropeza with the Greater Kansas City Building and Construciton Trades Council.
The City of Kansas City owns Barney Allis Plaza, which is overseen by the Convention Center, as well as the Auditorium Parking Garage, which is managed by the Parking Division of the Public Works Department.
PROJECT AREA
Barney Allis Plaza is a one-block urban park, on top of an underground garage, located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The project includes the demolition and replacement of the existing Auditorium Parking Garage, Barney Allis Plaza, and associated improvements around the project site. Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Mo., all major highways feed into the downtown making easy access to convention and entertainment facilities. The project area is approximately five acres and is encompassed by city streets around the perimeter:
- 12th Street to the north
- 13th Street to the south
- Central Street to the west
- Wyandotte Street to the east
PROJECT TIMELINE
Kansas City Ordinance No. 240131 authorized funds for the demolition and reconstruction of the Plaza and Garage. Demolition of the Garage and Plaza is scheduled to start summer 2024, and construction is anticipated to be complete by summer 2026, over a 25-26 month time period.
Construction is divided into four overarching phases:
- Mobilization, site preparation, demolition and excavation
- Parking reconstruction
- Plaza and pavilion work
- Plaza and perimeter streetscapes
BUSINESS MANAGER RALPH OROPEZA’S SPEECH
“Hello everyone, I am Ralph Oropeza with the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council. We represent workers in construction trades within Kansas City and surrounding areas. For anyone who doesn’t know what we do, our member unions provide serious careers, with good wages, healthcare, and a retirement, for workers of all backgrounds in the building and construction trades. We drive economic development in our community and make sure that workers work in good conditions and for a fairer share of the pie. Our members live here, they raise their families here, and they care about this great city.
“The thousands of working-class members who make up our member unions have built and maintained every notable project in this city’s history. We like to say Kansas City is a union town because, well…. we built this city. We are proud to continue that rich tradition with the reimagining and re-development of this important community gathering point in our city, just as we did when it was built by union members in the 1950’s and re-built in 1985.
“This project will not only result in an astounding 400,000 plus work hours, keeping our local economy moving, it will also impact and uplift communities of color and women with the MBE/WMBE goals that we were able to establish. I want to thank our prestigious Mayor Quinton Lucas, our outstanding City Manager Brian Platt, our champions on City Council, and McCownGordon Construction for working with us to make sure this project is truly transformational for our community.
“As a finishing note, I want to acknowledge, as the son of immigrants, that the Barney Allis Plaza is named for the son of Jewish immigrants and today regularly serves as the gathering space for Fiesta Hispana, something that I like to think would have made Barney, who was known for his above and beyond hospitality and welcoming spirit, proud. I know that the union members of Kansas City are proud to help build this world-class street-level plaza in the heart of Kansas City that will serve as a welcoming and gathering point for those in our community and those visiting it. “Thank you. Let’s build this thing!”
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
