LENEXA, Kan. — Lenexa will soon be moving its downtown. Construction on a brand new city hall and community center begins in a few months, and tonight, they are unveiling their plans to the community.
Every community works wants to grow, doing whatever it takes to attract families and businesses. Lenexa will soon have a leg up in the competition once the brand new $75 million dollar civic center is built.
Besides a new city hall, the crown jewel will be the new community center. It will have an aquatic center, a gym, basketball courts, a track and outside, there will be an amphitheater and space for a farmer’s market.
“We want to be known as an innovative community,” Todd Pelham, assistant city administrator, said. “We feel like we are a leader in the delivery of public service. We feel this is another amenity that we can highlight to other communities”
It is being paid for in part by a 3/8th cent sales tax passed by voters six years ago.
Lenexa officials believe the project will attract more businesses and young families to move there.
“We really want to market ourselves to businesses that come in, so we can embrace our quality of life, that we are willing to invest in that,” Pelham said.
By moving Lenexa’s downtown further west to 87th and Renner, it will better connect the growing community.
“We really consider this a generational investment for the city of Lenexa,” Pelham said. “This is a vision probably 20 years in the making, a vision that came out of a citizen led strategic visioning process.”
If you would like to learn more about this $75 million project, you can attend an open house Wednesday from 5-8 p.m .at the Thompson Barn, located off 112th and Lackman Road.
Lenexa officials hope to break ground this coming spring so they can open it in 2017.
Once it does open, the current City Hall behind me will be repurposed and given to the police department.
