Kansas City Full Council Advances Behavioral Health Facility

Posted August 14, 2024

Updated 9:35 a.m., August 16, 2024

The Kansas City Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee today voted unanimously to advance a proposed ordinance that would bring a behavioral health hospital to Kansas City.

The proposed ordinance by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas would authorize the sale of Belvidere Park, located at 14713 Fuller Ave, to the Missouri Department of Mental Health. The park would then be redeveloped to become the new Missouri State Behavioral Health Facility.

The ordinance will be presented to the full Council on August 15.

If passed, the Department of Mental Health would begin the design and construction of the 300,000-square-foot hospital. The estimated opening of the facility would be sometime in 2027 or 2028.

The facility would provide care for at least 200 Missourians with mental illness and would be managed by the Department of Mental Health and University Health.

“A behavioral health hospital provides the treatment needed for those struggling to heal and go on to live a successful life,” Lucas said. “I look forward to passage of the proposal on Thursday by the full Council and the work ahead to ensure we are providing a path to rehabilitation for those in need of mental health services in our community.”

The hospital would support more than 600 new jobs, ranging from entry-level to doctors and nurses, and would generate nearly $60 million per year for the surrounding Kansas City area economy in addition to the facility’s estimated $300 million construction.

The full Council voted to advance Ordinance 240691 on Thursday.