After hitting a snag in the planning process earlier this year, KC India Mart now has the necessary approval to go forward with its new location.
The Overland Park Planning Commission earlier this week voted 8-0 to approve the final site plan for KC India Mart’s future storefront at 8201 W. 135th St. Chair Kip Strauss and Commissioner Rob Krewson were absent from the meeting.
KC India Mart plans to move by 2026
- KC India Mart’s current store is just a few blocks away at 8542 W. 133rd St.
- However, the business plans to relocate to the new 13,000-square-foot store it’s building before its current lease runs out in 2026.
- That gives KC India Mart roughly two years to build the new store space and fully relocate.
The city delayed KC India Mart’s plans last month
- Previously, the planning commission delayed the site plan and sent it to the site plan review committee for further discussion.
- At the time, the commissioners were worried that some of the requested deviations strayed too far from Overland Park’s design standards.
- In the city’s Architectural Design Standards, buildings have to have at least 50% glazing on all facades that are at least 25% transparent.
- In the designs the application submitted for the February meeting, three of the four facades failed to meet that threshold.
Site plan still requires deviations from city design code
The site plan for the new KC India Mart still shows glazing and transparency percentages below the design standards laid out in Overland Park code. However, both planning staff and members of the planning commission were amenable to the deviation requests.
The new designs show increases to glazing percentages on some of the facades and additional architectural changes to the exterior of the building.
With that in mind, the staff report notes that the revised final site plan “is consistent with the spirit and intent” of the design codes.
“We believe it’s an attractive building. We think the way the materials are used and applied are appropriate,” Commissioner David Hill said, summarizing the feelings of the site plan review committee on the revised application.
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.
Looking back: KC India Mart’s plans to relocate in Overland Park hit snag
