KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including neighborhoods in Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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The Piotrowski family is in the process of bringing a special facility to Lenexa.
At West 108th Street and Pflumm Road, they're renovating an office building that will serve as a youth sports facility.
However, the owner, Andrew Piotrowski, said the space will provide more than sports conditioning and training.
"We always wanted to do something special after our daughter’s passing but we never really knew what that was gonna look like," he said.
In September 2021, his daughter Olivia passed away from fentanyl poisoning.
"It's crippling every day, not a second goes by that I don't think about her," her father said.
It happened a month after her 18th birthday.
The Shawnee Mission East student was a cross country, track and field runner, and aspiring model.
"She was a fashionable kid...the life of everybody. Everybody always says she did everything to make people laugh, always had a smile on her face....there was never a bad story about Olivia," Piotrowski said.
Losing Olivia three years ago was sudden and they've held this project close until it felt right to share with the community.
"Being a COVID kid when cross country and track shut down...idle hands, idle minds and that's kinda why I wanted to do this," Piotrowski said.
Olivia's parents want to educate parents who bring their families to the facility about how deadly the drug can be and the gateways that exist.
"It's crazy where we are nowadays and how it just kind of ripped through communities across the U.S....close to home for us. It was a 100% shock. Never expected to be in the position we are now."
Olivia being the inspiration behind the 2,600 sq. ft. facility gives her family something tangible to remember her by.
They will call it "No Limit Performance KC".
The family also hopes to have fentanyl awareness events in collaboration with the Lenexa Police Department.
"They can learn about her, learn about the dangers of fentanyl," Piotrowski said."If we had a place for her, maybe she could have directed some of her extra time and energy into something like this."
The Piotrowskis hope the facility can open before the end of the year so they can have her annual memorial at the grand opening.
You can learn more about Olivia here.
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