The first piece of Olathe’s $320 million Halo Ridge development is on track to open in less than six months, while the larger, “ultra-accessible” entertainment district could welcome visitors as early as spring of 2028.
Developers are targeting a Jan. 1, 2027, opening for the Halo Care Collective, a one-stop medical campus for people with disabilities and their families.
Meanwhile, site clearing is underway for the rest of the 64-acre project, located at 119th Street and Renner Boulevard, which will include an arena, amusement park, hotel and restaurants — all designed with accessibility in mind.
“We’ve cleared all the major hurdles,” said James Arkell, chief operating officer for Loretto Properties. “Now we’re getting all the agreements in place and finalizing everything.”
Arkell runs Loretto Properties alongside his father-in-law, Lamar Hunt Jr. the son of Kansas City Chiefs’ founder Lamar Hunt.
One-stop medical campus
The Halo Care Collective will be the first piece of the project to open, made possible because developers are renovating an existing building across the street from the future entertainment district rather than constructing a new one from the ground up.
Arkell said medical providers and community partners were excited to be a part of the Halo Care Collective.
“We don’t have any space available anymore,” Arkell said. “The response was just overwhelming.”
The facility will house medical providers, nonprofit organizations and support services.
Arkell said the goal was to make the Halo Care Collective a one-stop shop for people with disabilities and their families.
Services will include physical and behavioral therapy, vision care, legal assistance and financial planning. The building will also have a hair and nail salon staffed with people trained to serve people with special needs.
“Unfortunately, most people, when they can’t get the care they need, they just don’t get it,” Arkell said. “This way, it allows people to get in and get what they need all in one location.”
“Ultra-accessible” entertainment district
The idea for Halo Ridge came from Arkell’s firsthand experience trying to navigate around accessibility barriers.
His son Michael was born with a genetic condition that requires him to use a wheelchair and feeding tube.
The centerpiece of Halo Ridge is Michael’s WonderWorld, named after Michael Arkell, a fully inclusive sports-themed amusement park. People who use wheelchairs will be able to stay in their chairs while riding the attractions.
Arkell said past visits to other amusement parks with Michael have been difficult because he has to be taken out of his wheelchair for every ride.
“They have a handicap lane where we go by everybody who’s staring at us, then we remove him from the chair and hold on for dear life hoping he doesn’t fly off into the universe,” Arkell told the Post in October.
Halo Ridge will also have a 5,500-seat sports arena with two ice rinks and a flexible, multi-purpose space for sports like gymnastics and dance along with adaptive sports programs.
Developers said the site will also have a fully accessible hotel — the first of its kind in the world.
Arkell said Halo Ridge will go beyond what’s required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and that it aims to address even small accessibility barriers. For example, the hotel will have poles for things like feeding bags available.
Arkell emphasized that the development, which will also have retail shops and restaurants, will be for everyone.
“If you have a unique set of abilities, we will be able to accommodate those,” Arkell said. “But this is not a theme park for (only) special needs.”
Construction began earlier this year
Developers celebrated the start of construction with a groundbreaking in February. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly spoke at the event, saying Halo Ridge strikes a balance between practical and play.
“The vision is bold, the direction is clear, and the outcome will be life changing for so many,” Kelly said.
The developers are using STAR bonds to finance the project. Kansas Sales Tax and Revenue bonds are a financing tool used to support entertainment and tourism districts.
The Kansas Department of Commerce approved up to $65 million in STAR bonds for the project. Developers will use state and local sales taxes earned from Halo Ridge to pay back the debt and interest over roughly 20 years.
State and local tax incentives will cover about $100 million of the project.
