Despite efforts to address past unpermitted changes, the clock might be running out for the former Incred-A-Bowl building in southern Overland Park.

On Monday, the Overland Park City Council unanimously voted to direct city staff to prepare a resolution it could adopt later this month that would declare the former bowling alley structure at 8500 W. 151st St. unsafe. If approved, the resolution would formally order that the building be repaired or razed.

Originally, city code staff had recommended continuing the issue for 60 days since some effort had been made to temporarily shore up the changes that had rendered the building unsafe to begin with. However, the contractor has not completed permanent repairs to the structure.

After years of dealing with the state of the building and an owner who has resisted making repairs to it, councilmembers expressed a desire to more forcefully push to resolve the situation one way or the other.

“This is not just the first time that we’ve had to deal with this building in violation of city ordinances,” said Council President Holly Grummert.

Other councilmembers offered a similar assessment, though they lamented the limited authority the city has to address these types of property issues, often unable to get involved until things have deteriorated.

“I have complete sympathy for the neighbors,” said Councilmember Jeff Cox. “I was out of patience with the owner a long time ago, but I keep looking into the future at each action we take, and no action that I understand we can take resolves the problem for the neighbors.”

Now, possibly as soon as the next city council meeting scheduled for Oct. 20, councilmembers could vote to formally find the old Incred-A-Bowl building unsafe, starting a strict timeline on when the owner would need to repair or demolish the building or be billed for the work after the city does it.

How did the Incred-A-Bowl situation get to this point?

Incred-A-Bowl was a bowling alley for years before the business closed a decade ago. Later, NMS LLC, owned by Lenexa surgeon Paramjeet Sabharwal, acquired the building.

Since then, plans to redevelop it have fallen through, and neighbors have complained about how they say the property has deteriorated. Additionally, the property has been the subject of multiple code violations and has at times been delinquent on property taxes.

In July, the city council scheduled a hearing for Monday, Oct. 6, to declare it “unsafe and dangerous,” beginning the process of compelling its repair or demolition.

The city council reached that decision in July following an inspection a month earlier, which revealed that structural modifications had been made at the center of the building without the required city permit or the review of a certified structural engineer. This isn’t the first time city code staff found unpermitted work going on at the building.

These most recent unpermitted changes made “an unsafe condition,” said Jim Brown, Overland Park’s codes administrator, which could lead to a ceiling caving in. It would be particularly dangerous in a fire if first responders went on the roof, he said.

After the July meeting, contractors installed temporary supports to address the structural problems, and the city has issued a permit for the necessary repairs to make the fixes permanent. However, contractors have not officially begun that work, and city staff have not completed follow-up inspections.

On top of all that, the city is still pursuing several code violations at the property through the municipal court system.

Incred-A-Bowl redevelopment plans approved last year

In 2024, the city council approved a rezoning and a 10-year conditional special use permit for the Incred-A-Bowl property in the Trail Winds Shopping Center, which sought to convert the 65,000-square-foot building into an event space with attached dining and retail options.

At the time, councilmembers and the Overland Park Planning Commission before them were skeptical that the property owner would follow through on these development plans.

The approval last year gave the owner until Sept. 9, 2025, to acquire a building permit or else face the revocation of the special use permit that allows the space to be used as intended. That deadline has passed.

During the meeting on Monday, Charles Kraft, the contractor who spoke on behalf of the building’s owner, predicted all of the work proposed at the site — including the permanent structural repairs — could be completed in early 2026, weather permitting.

Additionally, Beastified, a gym and supplement store, took over one side of the building in 2023. They’ve been allowed to continue operating over the past few months since that part of the building was not at risk of collapse.

Next steps for Incred-A-Bowl:

• Now that the city council has ordered staff to draft the resolution formally declaring the building unsafe, it could take action on that as soon as Oct. 20.
• The city could compel the owner to repair or demolish the building within a certain amount of time. If that deadline passes, then the city would complete the work and bill the property owner.
• Or, the city council could elect to continue the item to allow more time at that juncture or vote it down if they find the repair work is done to the city’s satisfaction.

Looking back: Code violations at Overland Park Incred-A-Bowl raise fresh concerns about long-troubled site