Inclusive Play Area for KCI Airport New Terminal Unveiled
Variety KC and City of Kansas City, Missouri partner to improve accessibility
The Kansas City Aviation Department has partnered with Variety KC to develop an inclusive play area for children that will make the New Terminal at Kansas City International Airport one of the most inclusive and accessible airport terminals in the U.S. The New Terminal is slated to open in spring 2023.
At a news conference January 28, City of Kansas City, Missouri leaders and Variety KC unveiled plans for the Variety KC Inclusive Family Play Zone. On hand to reveal the innovative design were Councilwoman Heather Hall, KCMO City Manager Brian Platt, Director of Aviation Pat Klein, Variety KC’s Inclusion Revolution lead sponsor, Hy-Vee representatives, and Variety KC families and kids.
Variety KC Play Zone features will include a simulated aircraft and air traffic control tower, sensory boards, inclusive exercise videos, and a Kansas City skyline mural featuring inclusive partners. This inclusive area will allow kids to play with other kids and to learn about the air travel experience.
Millions of annual residents and visitors will arrive and depart from the New Terminal at KCI, immediately seeing and understanding the priority of the “#inclusionrevolution” in KC. Variety KC is beginning its fundraising efforts to support the play area to help make it inclusive for ALL Travelers. Opportunities for corporate sponsorships are open. A $50,000 pledge (paid over two years at $25,000) will receive a plaque at the play area site.
Also at the event, City Manager Brian Platt displayed the importance of access by taking on the “Variety Day in a Wheelchair Challenge”.
Renderings of the Variety KC Play Zone and the New Terminal are available at BuildKCI.com.
Variety KC
Variety Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City is a volunteer-driven organization committed to providing children with developmental disabilities the adaptive equipment and opportunities needed for activity and inclusion. At the heart of Variety’s achievements are the remarkable contributions of people in the community, and it is only through your time and effort that Variety is able to do so much for children and families right here at home. Learn more or donate at Donate to VarietyKC.org.
Build KCI
At just over one million square feet, the Kansas City International Airport New Terminal, Build KCI, is the largest single infrastructure project in the City’s history. It will have a lasting economic impact on the region in the form of new jobs, opportunities for local and small businesses, and a first-class traveler experience for airport users. The facility will open with 39 gates and the ability to expand up to 50 gates in the future. The New Terminal will also include a 6,000+ space parking structure, which will be constructed adjacent to the terminal building, a central utility plant, and landside and airside improvements.
The Build KCI project is expected to generate up to 5,000 construction-related jobs. More than 190 local partners are already at work on the project, including more than 100 minority- and women-owned businesses. The project will be funded using 100 percent tax-exempt debt – the most cost-efficient approach for the project.
When complete, the new facility will replace the airport’s aging terminals, which opened in 1972. The New Terminal will be built in the footprint of the airport’s former Terminal A, which was decommissioned and razed. The New Terminal is expected to open in early 2023.
Additional details of the project are available at BuildKCI.com and KCI-Edgemoor.com or on social media at @BuildKCI and @kciedgemoor.
The Kansas City Airport System is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of Kansas City, Mo., and is supported wholly by airport user charges. No general fund tax revenues are used for the administration, promotion, operation, or maintenance of the airports in the system. Visit FlyKCI.com for more information.
###
