New Leawood Playgrounds at Ironwoods Park and Yilan Park

At Yilan Park on Nall Avenue, a pagoda and a Taiwanese-style garden sit near a public art piece called "Cloud Gate," which has been there since 2011. Farther south, Ironwoods Park on Mission Road has a lodge and a playground the city calls "over 20 years old" and "at the end of its life cycle."

Both parks are getting new playgrounds this month, four days apart. The city bought them together through one contract and one fund, with one designer working on both. A matched pair would have been the simple result. Leawood instead designed each playground for the park around it, and the gaps between the two plans show what each park is for.

One contract, one fund, two sets of drawings

On June 15, 2026, the Governing Body approved an agreement with Athco RE Acquisition, LLC, for up to $819,728.27. Athco is the local representative of Landscape Structures, the playground manufacturer. The city's project narrative says the two playgrounds were designed together as design-build projects, so the city paid no separate design fees. The money comes from the Special Parks and Recreation Fund, under Park Improvements. The city's documents don't split that figure between the parks, so $819,728.27 is the only number for the pair.

Both projects pull out the old equipment and wood mulch and put down turf surfacing. That's about where the shared plan ends. The Planning Commission reviewed the two designs on May 26, 2026, and the equipment lists read like two different briefs.

Ironwoods got the shade and the extra square footage

The Ironwoods narrative explains the replacement plainly. The playground had passed 20 years, worn materials were adding maintenance and safety concerns, and replacement parts were slow to arrive or no longer made at all. The new playground is bigger as well as newer. It grows by 742 square feet to 4,382 square feet. The extra room goes to two separate age zones: a PlayOdyssey tower for ages 5 to 12 and a PlayShaper structure for ages 2 to 5.

Of the two projects, only Ironwoods adds a shade structure, a SkyWays Hypar. Its colors run to copper, acorn, leaf and tangerine, which the city describes as a nature-inspired palette. The acorn seats and log balance beam carry the same theme. The city calls the OmniSpin an all-abilities sensory-play piece with transfer access. The plans also show transfer-accessible elevated features and accessible ground-level activities in both age zones. According to the project narrative, one component that had been replaced recently and was still in good shape would be reused, so the old playground isn't gone entirely.

A canopy and extra square footage make the most sense at a park that draws crowds for hours at a time, and the city's fall calendar shows Ironwoods is that kind of park.

Yilan got the chimes and kept its garden

Yilan Park was named for Leawood's sister city, Yilan, Taiwan. In April 2026 the city reaffirmed that partnership and adopted "Yilan" as its preferred spelling in place of "I-Lan." The garden, the pagoda and "Cloud Gate" give the park its identity, and the playground project leaves them alone. The city says the park's other amenities are outside this project.

The playground's seafoam, denim, matte gray, maroon and green palette was chosen to complement what's already on the site. The equipment leans toward sound and motion. Yilan gets Rhapsody Vibra Chimes, a We-Saw, a Chill Spinner and a 6-foot Smart Play Cube around a 12-foot Alpha Tower that reaches 20 feet overall. The plan splits the space into two age-appropriate play environments inside an overall play area for ages 2 to 12, with one toddler swing seat and two belt seats.

The proposed equipment list for Yilan includes no new shade structure. The park already has a covered picnic area. Caregivers who need a bench out of the sun will head there rather than to a canopy over the equipment. On accessibility, the plans list transfer-accessible elevated components and accessible ground-level components but no ramp up to the elevated pieces. They also tie ADA compliance to the accessible protective surfacing. Families planning around a mobility device should know that before the first visit.

Ironwoods' fall runs around the new playground

The Ironwoods playground opens in the middle of the busiest stretch on the park's calendar. In Leawood's October and November listings, Ironwoods and its Lodge host more of the city's seasonal events than any other single site. In date order:

1. Into the Night Fall Festival, Friday, Oct. 16, 5 to 8 p.m., Ironwoods Park. The city lists a pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, hayrides, a luminary trail, s'mores by the fire, caramel apple nachos, a rock wall and cornhole.
2. Yilan Park Playground Ribbon Cutting, Monday, Oct. 19, 5:30 p.m., 12601 Nall Ave.
3. Ironwoods Park Playground Ribbon Cutting, Friday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m., 14701 Mission Road. The city promises "giant scissors and all," remarks from Mayor Marc Elkins, goodie bags, light refreshments, and a chance for kids to be among the first on the new structures.
4. Howl-O-Ween at Leawoof Park, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2 to 4 p.m., with dog costumes, a contest and pup cups.
5. Jazz & Martinis, Friday, Nov. 6, 7 to 10 p.m., at the Lodge at Ironwoods Park, 3640 Ironwoods Court.
6. Ironwoods Holiday Market, Sunday, Nov. 22, noon to 5 p.m., at The Lodge, with local makers, boutiques and seasonal vendors.

The fall festival lands a week before the Ironwoods ribbon cutting. In its Sept. 10 report to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, city staff said both replacements were underway and expected Yilan to finish in early September and Ironwoods in early October. Those were forecasts, and the city hasn't posted a closeout notice. The plans call for temporary construction fencing around the Ironwoods work area. If the playground is still fenced on Oct. 16, the festival will still have its hayrides and the luminary trail.

What the city has lined up next

The playgrounds are a 2026 capital project. Leawood's park plans for 2027 are still proposals. The proposed 2027 budget sets aside $125,000 to update the Parks Master Plan, and the same budget materials include resurfacing the tennis and basketball courts at City Park. That resurfacing work took the place of an earlier proposal to build separate pickleball courts at City Park. A park at 96th and Lee has a revised preliminary plan for a playground, patio, walking trail and ornamental garden, built in part from the old Fire Station 1. Staff told the Governing Body that project has no funding yet and will need a later decision. A master plan update is where the city could set whether future playgrounds follow the Ironwoods and Yilan model of shared procurement and park-specific design.

We'll be at both ribbon cuttings with the rest of the neighborhood. If you'd like to talk through what's new in Leawood, or your next move, before the holiday market, Hannah Murrell and The Red Bow Standard team are glad to sit down with you. Schedule Your Strategy and start your Red Bow experience.