Per data provided by the US Department of Agriculture, the average travel distance to a Grocery Store by foot is 0.5 miles. The location of the Downtown Grocery Store is in the center of a zone where at least 33% of the population was living farther than 0.5 miles to the nearest supermarket. The Grocery Store is also located in a district in which all nearby tracts have a poverty rate of 20% or higher, or tracts with a median family income less than 80% of the median family income for the metropolitan area (per data acquired from the USDA).
Designed to be a catalyst for the future of the Kansas City, Kansas urban core, the Downtown Grocery Store provides healthy, affordable, and sustainable services to its community. The Grocery location was thoughtfully selected to serve what was previously a designated “Food Desert” and to act as a foundation for future downtown development, being a gateway into the city’s urban center. Educational tools for the community include a kitchen classroom and garden to teach about healthy cooking, and sustainable growing practices. Natural light floods into the retail space, and a canopy unifies the storefront of the Grocery, providing a pedestrian scale along the exterior walkway as well as protection from the elements from shoppers and their food. Sustainable systems are also active and on display, as permeable pavers and collection cisterns are installed throughout the project site to manage and recycle stormwater.
