Long an ‘eyesore,’ old Johnson County Incred-A-Bowl could finally get its makeover
Overland Park’s long-vacant Incred-A-Bowl property, riddled for years with trash and potholes, neighbors say, could soon house an event center, a restaurant and retail space.
But tensions over the “eyesore” ran so high at a planning commission meeting Monday, that the developer was ejected from the room. Even so, his plans to revamp the building got the go-ahead to move on to the Overland Park City Council.
The rezoning request and early plans approved by the Overland Park Planning Commission depict a complete renovation of the 65,000-square-foot building at 8500 W. 151st St., once a hub for laser tag, arcade games and miniature golf.
The complex, now a dark gray brick, would be covered in white granite. Plans refer to the space as the “8500 Event Center.”
Gym and nutrition supplement store Beastified recently opened in about 7,000 square feet of the space. In addition to the event space — which would hold more than 1,000 people — an 11,500-square-foot store and 6,000-square-foot restaurant are outlined in plans.
Other potential tenants are not named in city documents.
Former Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Jackson and his wife, Mary, opened Incred-A-Bowl in 1997. Shortly after it closed in 2015, Dr. Paramjeet Sabharwal, a surgeon at MISH Hospital and Clinics in Lenexa, purchased the building.
As the property sat vacant for years, neighbors complained that it had fallen into disrepair.
At a planning commission meeting in 2022, neighbors and commissioners agreed that the owner had not kept up the property. Community members complained about trash surrounding the building. Several windows were boarded up, and potholes surrounded the property.
At Monday’s meeting, discussion of the site’s future morphed into a high-drama debate.
Commissioners were considering whether to approve a rezoning, a special use permit and a preliminary development plan for the building, which sits in the Trail Winds Center, at the northeast corner of 151st Street and Antioch Road.
Sabharwal last year gained approval to build medical offices on the northern piece of the property, but he said those plans fell through. And developers said finding the right fit for such a large, long-vacant building, has been a challenge.
“He (the owner) is trying to make the project into something,” David Kaster, architect on the project, told the commission. “We’ve looked at a lot of uses to go into the property. We don’t need another grocery store here. We think an event center will be a good use for this location.”
Some neighbors turned out for the afternoon meeting, with the same complaints brought up before.
“This is a pile of trash, not a medical building,” neighbor Kristi Uenishi said. “Some issues we have raised previously have not improved at all. His property is not only still dilapidated at best, it has gotten much worse.”
Neighbors also have voiced concerns as the owner owes more than $218,600 in unpaid property taxes, according to county records.
That concerned some commissioners as well, but city staff advised that it would be left to the county to deal with the back taxes.
“How has the owner not cleaned up his site and abided by what he should do as a taxpaying citizen, or maybe in this case a non-taxpaying citizen,” Commissioner Matt Masilionis said.
All of the commissioners agreed that the plans were promising and designed well, that the entertainment center would be a good use, and that the proposal met the city’s requirements.
Masilionis said as much as he’d “like to approve” the plans, he shares the neighbors’ concerns, as “it has been a dilapidated structure for a long time.”
“I’m disturbed by an owner who has apparently ignored the law and ignored being a good citizen. As much as I’d like to approve it, I think he needs to fix his act up before he proceeds further.”
Sabharwal began responding to comments from the crowd and then went to speak at the lectern.
Sabharwal said he bought the property as it “was going under,” and has since spent $1 million on taxes and maintenance.
“Now because of all the people sitting here,” he said of the crowd, “I’ve been trying to clean up the building. But all I hear is complaining, complaining, complaining.”
He said materials for the exterior are on the way and could be installed soon if he obtains city approvals. Then he went on to say people in the neighborhood have contributed to the site’s condition, accusing them of having “lit fires, people broke all the windows.”
A man from the crowd responded, “None of us did.”
Masilionis said, “I can appreciate the ownership buying the building and having to deal with the debt. ... But it does not give you the opportunity and right to ignore the neighbors.”
He continued, “I don’t know what kind of doctor you are, but I’m assuming you don’t leave the O.R. and …”
Sabharwal cut him off, shouting that he cannot speak about his profession. City staff intervened and removed him from the meeting.
Masilionis apologized for the exchange.
Despite the fireworks, the majority of commissioners agreed the project plans were appropriate for the site, hopeful that the development would be the best way to get the property cleaned up. Sharing neighbors’ concerns, though, the commission asked that construction begin within one year of City Council approval, otherwise the special use permit would be thrown out.
“As far as maintenance goes, there’s no doubt this has been, I guess kindly, referred to as an eyesore over a lot of years,” Commissioner Thomas Robinett said. “But there is a proposal here coming up for a significant investment in the building itself, with new operations. And I think this is one way to get this site cleaned up and in good condition.”
The Overland Park Planning Commission approved the plans 9-1. The City Council is expected to consider the matter at its Aug. 5 meeting.
If the project receives all of the needed approvals, Kaster said construction could begin before the end of the year.
This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 12:20 PM.
