Infamous River Market trench gets a glow-up
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"What's up with that random bench?" I wondered. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
Filling in a pit may at first glance seem among the lesser wonders brought about by the World Cup, but the latest development in a land saga lasting more than five years has some residents smiling.
The big picture: The ditch at Third and Walnut in the River Market has transformed into a photo opp after local organizations banded together ahead of the tournament.
Catch up quick: The eyesore had been around since early 2021, after a vacant warehouse was razed to make way for apartments that never materialized.
- By 2025, the lot was filled with debris, vegetation and graffiti.
Deborah Reiman, chair of the River Market Community Improvement District, tells Axios, "multiple entities came together to make it palatable," motivated by the World Cup.
- That includes a construction company hauling in dirt to fill the pit in February and grant money for cleanup and beautification.
Zoom in: Bridging The Gap (BTG), a local environmental nonprofit, used a $5,000 grant from Keep America Beautiful to help pay for litter clean-up, mulch, garden tools and a portion of a new River Market mural, which replaced a wall of graffiti.
- Cathy Justice, a program manager with BTG's Heartland Tree Alliance, tells Axios the nonprofit's mission includes beautifying and greenifying spaces across the KC metro.
- BTG also helped with trash pickup, and volunteers with River Market Garden Club, which Reiman also leads, laid the mulch and trimmed trees.
- The work finished in early June with a donated bench and a mural by Whitney Kerr positioned for picture-taking.
What they're saying: "Since the lot will eventually be developed, we won't do anything more with it," Reiman says. "It won't ever look good, but at least it won't look as bad." She added that she often sees folks sitting on the bench in the evenings.
Mark Schlake and his wife, Janet, are two of those folks. Mark tells Axios they live nearby and like to watch the streetcar go by packed with locals and World Cup tourists.
- "We just like all the movement of the people, the cars, the view of the City Market as the sun sets," Mark says, adding he hopes to continue visiting the bench "through our old age."
What we're watching: Oaks Properties in 2025 told Axios they still plan on developing the lot, but high building costs and low property values were keeping the project in limbo.
- The company did not respond to our most recent questions about any changes.