Former Incred-A-Bowl building spared from demo. New project permit already filed

The owners of a long-neglected, former bowling alley site in Overland Park made the necessary repairs to save the building from demolition after the city declared it dangerous last fall.

The owners of the long-vacant site already submitted another permit request for a new project just a month after it was spared.

“We are relieved that the property owner corrected the unsafe conditions and I’m proud the City Council took immediate action when those unsafe conditions were brought to our attention,” Ward 2 City Councilmember Drew Mitrisin told The Star. “But, we also have an expectation that all property owners follow the rules and maintain their properties and serve as good neighbors in the community.”

Last summer, potentially shoddy construction done without the proper permits on the old, once iconic, Incred-A-Bowl site, located at 8500 W. 151st Street, had city officials worried that the roof would cave in — prompting Overland Park city officials to take action and decide if the building should be condemned and demolished.

In late October, the City Council unanimously declared the site to be unsafe and gave the owners until Jan. 16 to repair or demolish the structure.

“We don’t want unsafe conditions in the city and it is a long process to get that corrected and we took it very seriously,” Mitrisin said.

The building can’t be torn down

Following the city’s declaration, the site passed its final inspection on Dec. 4 — meaning the property owner and contractor completed all of the required work as laid out in state statute, city spokesperson Meg Ralph told The Star.

“This included modifying the steel roof trusses that had been a primary concern previously,” Ralph said.

With the final inspection completed, the Incred-a-bowl building will not go back to the City Council for any additional approvals, and Overland Park cannot continue down the path of demolition, she said.

“The unsafe and dangerous structure proceeding is intended to have the city encourage property owners to keep their buildings in a state that isn’t hazardous to the community and that’s really, functionally, what happened here,” Ralph said.

Now, any future involvement with the site will be limited to permitting, inspecting any future work and responding to any code compliance cases that may come up, “which we would handle per our normal processes,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it took a long time and it took a lot of Council action and being involved in it, but ultimately … the roof issues are fixed so that the building is a safe building to be in,” she said.

Several unfinished projects, one new proposal

Incred-A-Bowl first opened in 1997 and was owned by former Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Jackson and his wife, Mary. When it closed in 2015, Paramjeet Sabharwal, a surgeon at MISH Hospital and Clinics in Lenexa, purchased the building.

Sabharwal was not available for comment before publication.

Mitrisin said he hopes the owner’s efforts to save the building will “advance their approved vision for the property.”

Over the years of his ownership, Sabharwal received zoning approvals for a hospital, an event space, a bocce ball space, and a gym — most of which haven’t come to fruition. Only Beastified Gym, which opened in 2022, operates out of the building.

Many neighbors to the building have expressed their frustration with the site — calling it an eyesore as they’ve watched it fall into disrepair over the years with no signs of progress.

Since 2018, Sabharwal has racked up 18 code violations, received two stop-work orders for working without a permit and was issued a fire hazard notice. As of Jan. 21, Overland Park property data shows that all but one violation have been resolved.

Johnson County property records show that he still owes more than $65,000 in property taxes from 2024, and currently owes more than $62,000 for 2025, totaling more than $120,000.

Now, the owners recently filed for a permit to remodel the existing space to accommodate banquet halls, according to the city’s permitting and inspection website. No further action has been taken on the item and no additional details are available as of Jan. 21.