Planners of a new inclusive playground in Westwood could receive as much as $3 million to transform the space as part of an initiative to create a fully accessible park within 10 miles of every Greater Kansas City family.
Variety KC on Tuesday announced that Joe D. Dennis Park, just off Rainbow Boulevard in Westwood, Kansas, is the second location selected for its Ten Parks Project, which in April revealed a $30 million investment from the Mallouk Family Foundation to power the project.
“This is exactly the type of neighborhood park we envisioned when we launched this project,” said Marc Harrell, CEO and chief inclusion officer of Variety KC, which empowers children with disabilities by providing access to vital medical equipment, therapies, inclusive community spaces and advocacy. “A community that already showed up for this space, a city that’s fully bought in, and the momentum to turn it into somewhere families come from across the region.”
Renderings of the planned project at Joe D. Dennis Park have not yet been released.
Led by Peter and Veronica Mallouk, the Mallouk Family Foundation’s commitment represents about 80% of the funding for the overall Ten Parks Project, which also includes a new playground space announced previously at the future Roy Blunt Luminary Park.
“We feel very privileged to be in a position to be able to make an impact and this is the city to make it in,” Mallouk, president and CEO of Creative Planning, said during a press conference in April where he detailed his family’s involvement in the project.
“What we love about it is it’s going to make everyone feel welcome at every major playground in the area and it’s going to be an example to all the other cities in the United States of what’s possible,” explained Mallouk, the 2025 UMKC Entrepreneur of the year and majority shareholder of Sporting KC, expressing a “deep affection for Kansas City.”
The project at Joe D. Dennis Park also is expected to bring together such partners as the City of Westwood and Hunt Midwest, whose adjacent residential development creates new opportunities to expand the park’s impact for generations to come, planners said.
“The City of Westwood is so thankful to and for Variety KC and the Mallouk Foundation for this opportunity to provide a modern, expanded, and fully accessible park for our Westwood residents,” said David Waters, mayor of Westwood. “Parks and green spaces that can serve all build and strengthen communities, and this incredibly meaningful gift from Variety KC and the Mallouk Foundation is a wonderful recognition of the City’s efforts to meet these needs for our community.”
This story originally appeared in Startland News, a fellow member of the Kansas City Media Collective.
