The Black MasterMind Group (TBMMG) is preparing for an initial grand opening of Legacy Park Plaza, its long-awaited business and community hub in downtown KCK, just in time for the 2025 holiday season, a milestone that represents both progress and perseverance for the organization. he event coincides with the organization’s signature Summit of The Black MasterMinds (Oct. 16–19), a four-day celebration of Black entrepreneurship that will draw hundreds of founders, lenders, and supporters to the site.
The opening, which will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Fri., Oct 17, at 10:15 a.m., marks a major milestone for the nonprofit. They initially announced plans to purchase and renovate the aging Gateway Plaza strip center at 1121–1123 N. 5th Street, in early 2024, with plans to transform it into a into a thriving ecosystem for small business growth.
Long after their initially announced opening date, work on the plaza is still underway. However, they’re opening with temporary improvements and without their kitchens, to allow retail businesses to take advantage of busy holiday shopping season.
“We white-boxed the space to get doors open and vendors selling for the holidays,” said founder and CEO Dr. Donnetta Watson. “Kitchens and permanent fixtures will follow during a short shutdown in January—retail’s slowest month—so we can come back strong early in the new year.”
What the original plan promised
TBMMG acquired and began redesigning the 25,000-sq-ft strip center at 1121–1123 N. 5th Street with help from a $1.4 million BASE grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. BASE stands for “Building a Stronger Economy” and provides state grants for infrastructure development that drives local economic growth.
TBMMG plans to use half of the grant for the property purchase and the other half for renovation and expansion.
The project is a key element of TBMMG’s vision to build a stronger Black business infrastructure in Wyandotte County. The concept for Legacy Park Plaza—described by Watson as a “micro-mall”—combines a Black Dotte Marketplace for retail and food, a business incubator with classrooms and offices for service companies, a conference and event center seating about 200 guests, and creative space for ventures like a recording and podcast studio.
Initial designs called for using half of the space for the Black Dotte Marketplace, with space for six food businesses and ten retail storefronts. TBMMG’s current training and incubator space at the north end of the strip will be enlarged to take up the other half of the strip center and undergo a redesign of its classrooms, conference rooms, training facilities, and office space for service businesses.
Grand Opening with Service and Pop-Up Retail
The grand opening for Legacy Plaza is set for Fri., Oct. 17 with a ribbon cutting at 10:15 a.m. The ceremony will serve as an opening for seven initial service businesses, as well as for eight retail businesses that have completed the initial phases of the Black Mastermind Business training and development program.
They’ve also selecting more retail businesses that will operate in the Black Dotte Marketplace “Pop-Up” for an initial 90-day holiday season. Some of those businesses will qualify to begin the process of becoming a permanent vendor in the marketplace.
“While they [permanent vendors] are in the facility, it is three years of training and development to run a business and to qualify for capital at the level necessary to open a business,” said Watson. “At the end of three years, we will be launching them into their own business.”
The grand opening day will also include a tent, that will be located in the plaza parking lot, that will include a number of additional businesses and community businesses and organizations handing out additional information.
However, all Pop-up Black Dotte Marketplace Tenants will commit to operating their businesses full-time during the 90-day window. Permanent hours for the Marketplace will be Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.
Permanent Construction Buildout
After the initial 90-day holiday season opening, the Black Market Space will close down for 30 to 45 day period to complete the kitchens and the permanent build out of retail spaces.
During this initial phase, food vendors will prepare items off-site and sell from their market stalls or food trucks in the plaza lot.
The Organization Behind the Project
The Black MasterMind Group is a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering Black entrepreneurs. The organization operates an eight-week business boot camp—held four times a year—and with the opening of Legacy Park Plaza, a three-year incubator program for alumni businesses.
Dr. Watson says TBMMG was designed to address barriers that keep many minority-owned startups from scaling.
“Most banks lend to businesses that are expanding, not to those still trying to survive,” she explains in a 2024 article with THE VOICE. “Eighty-seven percent of Black entrepreneurs never qualify for traditional loans. We focus on documentation, capital readiness, and fundable business models so more of our businesses can become sustainable and scalable.”
The Broader Bet: From Pop-ups to Permanence
When Watson first surveyed KCK’s retail corridors, she found only a dozen Black-owned brick-and-mortar businesses (excluding liquor stores). The most recent count was about three dozen, though some have since closed. Legacy Park Plaza aims to add 30 new businesses to that total—quickly—by offering low-barrier entry, shared services, and training that help pop-up vendors become permanent entrepreneurs.
Weekend Includes Organization’s Annual Summit
Timed this year to coincide with the Plaza Opening is the **Summit of The Black MasterMinds, the organization’s annual multi-day gathering focused on building, financing, and scaling Black-owned businesses through training, networking, and mentorship opportunities.
Events that are part of the Summit include:
- Thursday, Oct. 16 — Pitch Day (10 a.m.–4 p.m.)
Entrepreneurs compete for $35,000 in total seed funding: $20,000 for Legacy Plaza Incubator Businesses, $10,000 for alumni of the Mastermind Boot Camp, and $5,000 for 90-day marketplace vendors. This event is not open to the public. Winners will be announced at Saturday night’s Awards Dinner. - Friday, Oct. 17 — **Road2Capital forum (1:30–3 p.m., free registration), You’ll discover funding sources you didn’t even know existed, gain insider strategies to increase your chances of hearing “YES,” and connect directly with lenders who are ready to invest in your vision. Meet and network with bank partners and sponsors, including Arvest Bank, BMO Bank, Capital Federal Savings, US Bank, and KIVA Microloan Fund, along with grant specialists who can guide you toward real opportunities.
- Friday, Oct. 17 — Speed Networking (6:30 – 10:30 p.m., $25. Get ready for an energizing evening of rapid-fire networking where connections spark opportunities! This is your chance to meet ambitious entrepreneurs, exchange ideas, and form the alliances that fuel success.
- Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 & 18 — Summit Conference & Awards
While many of the weekend events are open to the public for free or for a ticketed fee, the summit conference workshops are only open to registered conference attendees. The $129 registration feed also includes all ticketed events. Some of the keynote presenters on financial literacy and entrepreneurship include keynote by Dr. George Fraser, celebrated author, entrepreneur, and speaker dedicated to networking, wealth-building and business success. - Sat., Oct. 18 — **Black Tie Awards Dinner (7:30 – 10:30 p.m., $50 ) The evening concludes with a honoring sponsors, pitch winners, and standout graduates.
- Sunday, Oct. 19 — Graduation & Celebration (9:30 a.m. -2p.m., $28)
Morning worship and cap-and-gown ceremony for 2025 graduates, followed by a luncheon for students and their families.
Except for the Friday VIP lunch, Friday night networking, and Saturday’s awards dinner (included in a $129 Summit registration, with vending as an add-on), all daytime sessions and the Road2Capital forum are free and open to the public.
