Beginning with a vision

The dream of a farmers’ market structure in downtown Lee’s Summit dates back to the beginning of revitalization efforts. In 1989, the Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street organization was formed through a partnership with the City of Lee’s Summit and downtown property and business owners, united by a shared mission to change the trajectory of their struggling downtown.

By spring 1993, these stakeholders had adopted the ​“Vision of the Heart” plan — a block-by-block roadmap for bringing investment back to the community’s core. The farmers market structure appeared in those early pages, but it wouldn’t be included a decade later when voters approved a $25.2 million no-tax-increase bond issue to fund downtown street reconstruction and build a new City Hall and parking garage.

This momentum led to the 2004 Old Lee’s Summit Development Master Plan, which once again included the need for a farmers market structure. The idea kept surfacing, kept being studied, but never quite made it across the finish line.

In October 2007, the Lee’s Summit Arts Council developed a Cultural Arts Plan, laying the groundwork for a future bond initiative to establish an outdoor performance space downtown. Six years later, in April 2013, voters approved another no-tax-increase bond — this time $600,000 for the downtown outdoor performance space.

Success at the ballot box, however, didn’t translate to shovels in the ground. Property couldn’t be secured for the project, and it began to languish — another victim of the gap between vision and execution.

By 2015, a group convened to review the decade-old 2004 plan and distilled it into five clear priorities: an expanded downtown footprint, additional parking, a farmers market structure, additional housing, and improved traffic corridors into downtown.

The Lexington Epiphany

Fresh from this priority-setting process, Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street (DLSMS) began searching for ways to move the needle forward. They loaded the board and staff into a white van and drove the 9+ hours to Lexington, Kentucky, to visit the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Cheapside Park. Over one transformative weekend, they attended the Thursday Night Live Concert Series, experienced the Kentucky Cork, Tap & Barrel event on Friday evening, and watched the space transform into a bustling farmers market with more than 80 vendors on Saturday morning.

The trip changed everything. The team returned energized, their vision expanded beyond just a farmers’ market space. They’d witnessed firsthand how a well-designed project could truly impact economic vitality. The question became: why choose between an outdoor performance space and a farmers’ market when you could have both?

Momentum Builds

DLSMS approached city staff with a bold proposal: combine both projects into one transformative space. Almost overnight, support swelled. The Downtown Lee’s Summit Community Improvement District agreed to match city support dollar-for-dollar up to $4 million.

City leaders began identifying funds that could be set aside for the project. Recognizing that elections can shift municipal priorities, DLSMS met with prospective candidates to share their downtown vision. Mayor-elect Bill Baird not only embraced the vision but challenged the team to think bigger, grander — to pursue a once-in-a-generation transformation for downtown. 

The expanded site brought expanded challenges: complex land acquisition negotiations, stormwater management issues, and failing infrastructure that needed replacement. These problems took time to solve, requiring technical expertise and political will.

Then 2020 arrived, and the pandemic threw yet another obstacle in the path. Planning slowed but continued. In-person meetings became Zoom calls. A private development partner was brought into discussions. The city had to balance this priority against others in the community.

Through it all, the vision persisted.

Green Street Becomes a Reality

In 2024, thirty-five years after the Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street organization first formed, thirty-one years after the Vision of the Heart plan was adopted, and eight years after that pivotal trip to Lexington, Green Street officially broke ground.

Green Street’s opening weekend in August 2025 drew 12,500 visitors over four days, with the opening Saturday alone attracting 7,900 people. These aren’t just impressive numbers — they represent a fundamental shift in downtown visitation patterns. Prior to Green Street, an average Saturday in August 2024 drew 11,200 visitors to the entire downtown. The opening Saturday brought 21,500 visitors to the downtown, nearly doubling typical traffic. The market is seeing late-season attendance as high as 5 times the number of shoppers compared to the prior year. 

Beyond attendance, visitor behavior metrics tell a compelling story. Average dwell time at the farmers market jumped from 26 minutes in 2024 to 45 – 51 minutes in 2025, suggesting visitors are spending more time — and likely more money — in the downtown district. The average household income of market visitors of $96,000 significantly exceeds the state average of $69,700, indicating the facility is attracting the economically mobile visitors that downtown businesses depend upon.

The project represents more than just a farmers’ market or performance venue. It’s a testament to the power of persistent advocacy, strategic planning, and community vision. Future additions include a hotel, dining, and retail opportunities — the kind of mixed-use development that can anchor a downtown for generations.

Learn more about Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street >