KC India Mart still plans to relocate about a half-mile away from its current southern Overland Park store. However, the project recently hit a barrier.
The Overland Park Planning Commission earlier this month voted unanimously to send the KC India Mart final development plan to a Site Plan Review Committee meeting before it comes back to the commission for further review.
KC India Mart is currently located nearby
- KC India Mart operates a grocery store located at 8542 W. 133rd St., but its current lease ends in early 2026.
- Now, it plans to move down the street to 8201 W. 135th St.
- There, it will build a new, bigger, 13,000-square-foot building.
Store plans don’t fit city design rules, commission says
As it stands, the proposed final site plan for the new KC India Mart store fails to meet the city’s glazing standards. That means that the building lacks enough glass in its design to meet Overland Park’s rules.
In the city’s Architectural Design Standards, buildings have to have at least 50% glazing on all facades that are at least 25% transparent. Three of the four facades do not meet that threshold.
David Eskov, the architect for the project, said he and the applicant “don’t see the need” for glazing on the three building facades, especially since the primary facade — on the north side of the building — does meet the standard.
Additionally, he said not putting glass on the southernmost facade hides the back-of-house elements of the store from public view, but the project team wouldn’t oppose adding more glazing to the western side of the building.
Still, the planning commission was not ready to vote on the KC India Mart development plan, but was also hesitant to stipulate changes to the design from the dais. With that in mind, Commissioner David Hill floated sending the plan to the Site Plan Review Committee and tabling it for now.
“I think there’s a lot we can find agreement on,” Hill said. “I think we’ll have an excellent design by the time we get out of Site Plan Review.”
Had the commission moved forward with voting on the project, Commissioner Holly Streeter-Schaefer said she’d have been prepared to vote to reject the site plan as presented.
KC India Mart sells groceries and hot food
- The grocery store focuses primarily on products from South Asia, which includes rice, spices, sweets, snacks and tea.
- KC India Mart also offers traditional Indian cuisine in its store via a partnership with Desi Bites, a fast food Indian restaurant. Site renderings show the franchise will move to the new location with the grocery store.
- The cafe serves dishes like Aloo Tikki Chaat, Donne Mutton Biryani and Murgh Malai Boti, as well as pakoras, veggie curries and dessert.
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