The Stone Manor on 79th event space planned in downtown Overland Park’s “iconic” and historic Strang Car Barn is one step closer to reality.
Earlier this week, the Overland Park City Council Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee voted 6-0 to recommend approval of an incentive package offering sales tax exemptions on construction materials used in the renovation of the building at the corner of 79th Street and Santa Fe Drive.
The full project is expected to cost about $1.4 million, and this exemption would save Stone Manor’s developers about $129,000.
Strang Car Barn will reopen as an event space
- When the Overland Park Historical Society put the Strang Car Barn building up for sale last year, Jack Epps said he jumped at the opportunity to help see it into its next chapter while also preserving its distinctive stone exterior.
- Now, with the help of Doug Glade and his wife, Tacia, they plan to convert it into a 300-seat venue geared towards weddings.
- Glade said his goal is to create something “that celebrates that iconic building that is an important part of the history of downtown Overland Park.”
“Saving things … that will never be built again”
Councilmember Jeff Cox, who typically opposes the use of incentives for development, was uncharacteristically and “enthusiastically” supportive of this project.
He said he saw the renovation of the Strang Car Barn into an event space as the perfect use of economic development tools.
“I actually care more about your passion for the building than I do your experience in executing,” Cox said, ”as long as you don’t blow that building up.”
Additionally, he said he saw it as “the best building” in the city, maybe the whole region, and as a key part of the charm in downtown Overland Park.
“To me, this is the kind of thing that we should really be doing as a governing entity, is saving things like that that will never be built again,” Cox said.
Councilmember Chris Newlin was also keen to help save the building, nodding to the District Pour House + Kitchen restaurant in downtown Shawnee that’s made use of a historic bank building on Johnson Drive.
“It gives you a certain feeling when you see the building,” he said.
Car barn could eventually be “boutique hotel” also
Last week, the Urban Land Institute of Kansas City completed a two-day panel event that concluded with a presentation about the group’s suggestions for the downtown Overland Park area.
While nothing is set in stone from that conceptual plan, a cornerstone of the Urban Land Institute’s vision is opening a boutique hotel in downtown Overland Park. The location they identified for such a project was the historic Strang Car Barn.
Chris Harlow, of True North Hotel Group, during the panel’s presentation last Thursday detailed a high-level plan to keep the original building and add onto it to make a new three-story, high-end hotel and restaurant with 50 to 65 guest rooms.
The hotel could also feature a rooftop patio that offers “an eagle-eye view of downtown,” he said.
A baseline cost estimate from the Urban Land Institute panel put the price tag for a new hotel at around $22.5 million.
On Wednesday at the finance committee meeting, both Epps and Glade seemed open to the concept of eventually including the building in a hotel.
Epps said he’s started talking to nearby property owners — including a neighboring apartment complex — about potentially putting a deal together.
“This is a jumpstart” for downtown OP
Councilmembers on the committee were also supportive of the potential hotel plan.
Councilmember Gregg Riess called it “the first piece.”
“It does make sense, and it allows me to recognize the vision of everything that would come, but we need a first mover,” he said.
Aside from the hotel, the Urban Land Institute’s concept for downtown Overland Park included more parking, infrastructure improvements, defined gateway signs along Metcalf Avenue and other mixed-use redevelopment.
The study focused primarily on the area between 79th and 80th streets, and Santa Fe and Metcalf.
“This is a jumpstart for part of our next steps for downtown,” said Councilmember Holly Grummert, who chairs the finance committee. “This does feel like a next leap forward.”
Next steps:
- The resolution authorizing the sales tax exemption goes to the Overland Park City Council for consideration next.
- After that, Glade said renovations are on track to begin in October and take about four months to complete.
- Additionally, Glade said the venue is fully booked out for May already, and other spring months have started filling up as well.
- Any future decisions about a hotel or other elements from the ULI presentation will likely be reached at a later date.
More downtown Overland Park news: Overland Park Historical Society set to move into former Strang depot next year
