Four century-old industrial buildings on Kansas City's Westside once slated to anchor a bustling entertainment district full of bars, music venues and beach volleyball courts are now facing the wrecking ball instead. The new owner of the Pennway Point property has filed plans to demolish the structures and grade the land, leaving the future of a long-promised neon sign museum and food hall in serious doubt.
According to the Kansas City Star, Essential Properties Realty Trust filed a demolition and grading plan in August for four buildings at the six-acre site, and that plan remains under city review. The Star's reporting, by Eric Adler, details how the project's Phase 2 ambitions — bars, restaurants, yard games, and the Lumi Neon Museum — collapsed under the weight of lawsuits and unpaid debts even as the Ferris wheel and mini-golf course that opened in 2023 continue operating nearby.
Pennway Point was originally supposed to open its full three-acre entertainment district back in 2023, per the same account, with plans for a neon-sign alley featuring rescued signs. Developer Vince Bryant, who led the project through his firm 3D Development, had raised $9 million from investors but still needed roughly $2 million more to settle debts and keep the project moving, the station's report notes.
A Complicated Sale Trail
The property changed hands in June, when Essential Properties Realty Trust purchased it through a subsidiary called Zag 26, LLC from Safranda MO, LLC, with the sale recorded on June 12. DaVinci KC's managing partner was Dante Passantino.
The sale involved the parcel at 2425 Jefferson Street.
What Happens to the Buildings
Among the structures targeted for demolition is the Carter-Waters Corp. building, a four-story structure built in 1930.
Neon Museum's Uncertain Future
Photographer Nick Vedros founded the Lumi Neon Museum. The museum planned to display rescued neon signs along a pedestrian alley between the district's planned food and music venues, according to Startland News. LUMI says it looks forward to opening in 2027.
This isn't the first time a Bryant-led historic redevelopment has stalled midstream. Flatland KC has reported that Bryant previously led a $95 million planned conversion of the former Kansas City Star headquarters into a project called Grand Place, which was suspended after interior demolition work had already been completed.
The Wheel Keeps Spinning
Despite the turmoil surrounding the surrounding buildings, the KC Wheel is separately owned and operated by Icon Experiences. Icon Experiences also runs similar Ferris wheel attractions at St. Louis Union Station and National Harbor near Washington, D.C., according to KCUR.
The six-acre site sits along West Pennway in the Westside neighborhood, directly across from the IRS Processing Center and just three blocks east of the Boulevard Brewing Company complex, per KCUR's reporting — a stretch of the urban core that was supposed to help stitch together a walkable corridor linking Union Station and Southwest Boulevard.
