So, who knew this existed? The Kessler Park Water Reservoir is an abandoned concrete hole embedded into the highest point of the park — just northeast of Wabash Avenue + St. John Avenue.

Background information

The reservoir was built in 1921 to serve the needs of East Bottoms businesses. However, it was decommissioned just 10 years later when the shell began to crack. Now, a group of students are envisioning a new life.

Kessler Park is a 300-acre haven for outdoor activities, scenic drives, and dramatic views. “Over the years, time and neglect have taken their toll on the park,” according to the Kansas City Design Center. That toll is embodied in the reservoir's dilapidation.

The KCDC is a nonprofit that partners civic leaders with professional + student designers. The program serves as an education incubator and a public service, promoting conversation and action through studies, concepts, and renderings.

The goal: Create a new community-centered design for the park + a framework for how to make it happen. The challenge: The reservoir is big (nearly a football field wide) and well grounded.

The amphitheater could host events, like sports watch parties. Photo by KCDC

After half a year, the studio has come up with three designs with different goals and uses — labeled integration, intersection, and preservation.

The integration design depicted half of the pit as an amphitheater. Renderings showed activities like the Chiefs watch party, a night concert, and fireworks. The other half would be turned into a multi-use market, which could provide a more permanent space for events like the Pendleton Arts Block.

Update: May 17, 2022

When we first went back on Dec. 16, 2021, the team had three designs with the intent on narrowing them down to one final concept. That’s not exactly what happened.

“We found that we had the capacity to move forward with all three schemes, and that’s how the public would be best served,” Vladimir Krstic, director of the design center, told us.

The more, the merrier, right? So, let’s dig in.

The Preservation scheme is the most financially feasible. | Photo by KCtoday via KCDC.

Preservation scheme

Embraces current qualities by preserving native plants + graffiti
Builds experiential paths, garden spaces, and water storage
Provides community activity space

Intersection scheme

Reduces seclusion by cutting pathways through the basin
Connections from the park + community intersect across the reservoir
Provides several separate sections for events + activities

Integration scheme

Integrates the reservoir into the park + community by cutting out the south wall
North basin retains shape for a large amphitheater
Builds middle wall for views, staging, and projections

Intersection (left) + Integration. | Photo by KCtoday via KCDC.

The design center works closely with the KC Parks and Rec, culminating in a final presentation.

“They had some concerns about funding,” Masters student Payton Monks said. “Each scheme actually has its own phasing plan for what would be most important or easiest to put in first.”

Apart from incredible learning opportunities through hands-on, real-world experience, the design center ultimately provides the studies + blueprints for any organization who may want to follow up.

“It’s not about picking one that’s going to be implemented,” Masters student Tayrn Vogan-Bohrer said of the design center. “There’s opportunity for bigger scale projects over a period of time [...] The sky's the limit.”

Stay up to date with the KCDC via email updates here.