FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — Grant Park was officially deemed open for resident and family enjoyment following a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 25, 2025, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Improvement projects to the park include pickleball courts and seating areas.
The ribbon was cut by Fort Leavenworth Garrison Commander Col. Duane Mosier; Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Vanessa Sun; Project Manager Tristan Aycock, ACI Build Group; Project Manager David Lutgen, Design Branch, Engineering Division, Directorate of Public Works; and Chief Recreation Officer Jeff Honey, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
“This is an amazing day,” Mosier said in his opening remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It is a culmination of a vision of our engineers, our DPW employees, and everybody standing up here.”
The construction for this first phase of the Grant Park renovation project cost more than $2 million. ACI was the hired contractor to renovate the park, and the contract was created through the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command. Construction began in September 2024, but plans began much earlier.
“A short-term study was completed in 2022 to assess the short- and long-term redevelopment options for Grant Park,” Lutgen said.
Grant Park now has a total of four pickleball courts with a “pickleball pavilion” between them, a tennis court, a soccer field, and a concrete walking path for members of the Fort Leavenworth community to enjoy in their leisure time. The walking path will become a half-mile jogging trail once complete.
Within the pickleball pavilion, there are four picnic benches, a bike rack, several electrical outlets, lights for nighttime games and a water fountain. The water fountain is ADA accessible, and includes a water bottle filler and an attached water dish for dogs. Lights within the pavilion and on the tennis court are on a timer between 6-10 p.m., and Grant Park will close at 10 p.m. each night.
The length of the park runs between Pope Avenue by Grant Pool to Kearney Avenue near the Post Office. As renovations continue, patrons are asked to enter the park from the north entrance off Kearney Avenue, or to use the stairs off the McClellan Avenue alleyway. Community members are also asked to use the sidewalks and stay off the grass when entering the park. The park will be closed for approximately three days during the next month so contractors can make small fixes suggested by customers and residents.
Honey said the goal of this project was to make the park functional for each season, as well as to make the area appealing for residents to spend more time there.
“The Garrison Team gathered and wanted to make an impact on this area; not only for the community around it, but for the entire Fort Leavenworth community to enjoy,” he said. “It's been somewhat of an eyesore for some time now. We wanted it to be multifunctional for not just warm months but also thinking about how the area could be used in winter with sledding (and more.) We look forward to every phase that we complete until we have the finished product that everyone would be proud of.”
Honey also said the park has an added goal of fostering community connections.
“Most of the Fort Leavenworth community is close, but we hope that the area will bring them closer, something that it will make them proud to call home,” he said.
Sun said she also thought those connections would be a benefit of the park.
“I think because it is a community park it will bring the community closer and tighter together, where we can come out and play on the courts,” Sun said. “I think it’s going to be a great community meeting ground.”
Following the ceremony, a competitive game of pickleball began between the Mosier and Sun families. Both families said they enjoy pickleball and they wanted to share this enjoyment with community members.
The Sun family won the game with a score of 11-9. Following their first game, several members of the community took to the courts to play their own games of pickleball.
Future plans for renovating the park include building a sand-volleyball court, additions to Grant Pool, and adding a sidewalk to loop around the entire park.
Joel Marquardt, architect in the DPW Design Branch, Engineering Division, said DPW worked closely with FMWR leaders to devise the best elements to include in the park plan. FMWR will play a large role in overseeing park activities and maintenance. As more phases continue to be completed, more specific roles in general oversight will be assigned.
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