What is actually scheduled to happen at 96th Street and Lee Boulevard? Less than the June headlines suggested. The Leawood City Council approved a park plan for the city's original civic corner on June 15, 2026, by a 7-0 vote. Four months later, the plan has no construction date and no budget, and no final version has come back before the Planning Commission. For 25 years the question at this corner was whether to save the 1953 City Hall. That question is settled. The open question now is whether the city will pay for what replaces it.
What the June vote actually approved
The plan covers about 3.7 acres on the east side of Lee Boulevard, just south of 96th Street. The old City Hall would be demolished. The original Fire Station 1 would be renovated, with part of the building removed to make room for a patio and gathering space. Around them, the plan adds a playground, a walking trail, an ornamental garden and a HAWK signal, a pedestrian-activated crosswalk that stops traffic on Lee Boulevard.
The Planning Commission had already recommended the revised plan unanimously on May 26. Ward 1 Councilmember Matt Peppes missed the June meeting, but Mayor Marc Elkins read a statement from him before the vote. Peppes wrote that north Leawood needs more park and community space, and that the city had had two decades to come up with a better concept.
The council's main message that night was about timing. Councilmembers told residents the master plan is a guiding document. It comes with no funds and no construction timeline, and any final development plan would have to go back to the Planning Commission and the council for a detailed review that includes the budget.
"Nothing that we do tonight is going to end up with earth movers or anything else happening next week," Elkins said.
A corner older than the city
Part of what made this corner hard to decide is how much of Leawood's history sits on it. The Leawood Historic Commission's guide to the city's past traces it like this:
- 1922: Oscar G. Lee buys several hundred acres. His land runs from 79th to 103rd Streets, between State Line and Belinder, and the guide places his home in the 96th and Lee area.
- 1937: Kroh Brothers plats the original Leawood housing development.
- 1948: Leawood incorporates.
- 1951: Fire Station 1 opens with two bays.
- 1953: City Hall is built. The city first rents it from Kroh Brothers for $250 a month and later buys it.
- 1994: The new City Hall opens and the original building is closed.
The fire station grew with the city, adding two more bays in 1960 and later office and living quarters. The old City Hall stayed at 1,100 square feet. It once held the city clerk, the council, the police and the municipal court. The station buildings have more recently been used for storage, including for a 1949 fire truck.
Ward 2 Councilmember Mary Larson said the city had held about 50 meetings on the property since 2001. At one of them, on November 12, 2018, the council voted unanimously to keep the old City Hall where it stood rather than move it.
Why the building's supporters lost this round
The 2018 vote is the reason the June decision surprised so many people. JoLynn Hobbs, president of the Leawood HOA, told the council she had thought the building was safe after that earlier vote. Preservation supporters gathered about 1,000 signatures on a petition, made an offer to buy the building and kept emailing councilmembers until the vote.
During public comment, the coffee shop and ice cream idea came back. Former Councilmember Debra Filla said it was the most promising way to keep the building and the community history in it, and she asked for one more year to try. "It's a piece of art," she said, as reported by the Martin City Telegraph. Hobbs suggested turning the building into an open-air shelter for residents instead.
Councilmembers pointed to the condition of the building. Recent inspections had found lead, asbestos and mold. Ward 3 Councilmember Lisa Harrison said one of her first votes after being elected ten years ago was to save the old City Hall. "What I didn't know about then was the triple threat of lead, asbestos, and mold," she said. "We have spent more time on this than any other issue." Larson raised concerns about the rising price tag, which has reached $3.6 million, but said she was ready to move forward. "We've been discussing this since 2001," she said. "It's time to go."
Right after the vote, Ward 1 Councilmember Alan Sunkel said the city still had to work out how to pay for razing the building at that $3.6 million figure. The city's own budget documents, released over the summer, show it has not done so yet.
A budget line with no dollar amount
On September 8, the council adopted the 2027 budget and the 2027–2031 Capital Improvement Program, both by 7-0 votes. The city's announcement put the five-year plan at about $112.8 million in projects. The projects it highlighted included court resurfacing at City Park and parking lot improvements around Veterans Memorial Plaza at the current City Hall. It did not mention 96th and Lee.
The draft that went to the Planning Commission is more specific. In the version dated July 16, 2026, "96th & Lee" appears under "Currently Unfunded Projects," with General Fund as the listed source and no amount in any year. That draft was reviewed before the September adoption. Even so, the gap is easy to see next to the parks projects in the same document that do have dollar amounts and years:
| Project in the draft 2027–2031 CIP | Amount | Year shown |
|---|---|---|
| Court resurfacing at City Park: tennis, pickleball, basketball | $1,956,453 | 2027 |
| Oxford Schoolhouse and Nature Center drainage | $695,000 | 2027 |
| Indian and Tomahawk Creek Trail improvements | $3,800,000 | 2028 |
| Ironwoods Lodge siding replacement | $300,000 | 2028 |
| 96th & Lee | No amount listed | Listed as unfunded |
The $3.6 million price tag reported for the project in June is close to the planned trail improvements and nearly twice the City Park courts project. At that figure, it would be one of the larger items on the city's parks list. So far it is the only one without a year attached.
The calendar since June matches the budget. The Planning Commission agendas for July 28, August 25 and September 29 include no final development plan for the site.
The one date the approval does carry
The city's ordinance includes the only real deadline. Under its terms, the preliminary plan approval lapses after two years if construction has not started or is not being actively pursued, although the city can grant an extension. Counting from the June 15, 2026 vote, that puts the deadline in June 2028.
Between now and then, the order of steps is set out in the city's own process. A final development plan with detailed drawings and a budget would go to the Planning Commission and then to the council, and funding would have to appear in a future capital plan. The first public sign of movement will be a 96th and Lee case on a Planning Commission agenda. Until that appears, the old City Hall stays as it has been since the city moved its offices south in 1994, and the retired Fire Station 1 stays next to it. The difference is that the question being argued is now about funding, not preservation.
For Leawood residents who live within walking distance of the corner, the June vote decided what the park would include. It did not decide when it will be built. You can read the full council discussion in the Johnson County Post's coverage of the June vote, and the city posts budget documents on its finance page. More on the north end of the city is on our Leawood neighborhood guide.
If you own a home near 96th and Lee and want to talk through how a park that is approved but not yet funded fits into your own timing, the team at Bash KC follows these Planning Commission agendas closely and is glad to walk through it with you. When you're ready, you can also request your personalized home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
