KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability, solutions and consumer advocacy. Share your story with Isabella.
The former Incred-A-Bowl building in southern Overland Park has sat vacant for years. On Monday, Overland Park City Council deemed the building unsafe and dangerous.
It's something small business owners and neighbors say they have been telling the city for years.
The city's decision on the building means the property owner has 15 days to start making repairs on the structural damage and have repairs completed by January. If the owner fails to do so, the city has the option to fix the damages or tear down the building.
Both options would come at the expense of the owner, though the owner would still have control of the building.
The former bowling alley has problems from the inside out. Filings with Overland Park show damage to support posts, rafters and ceiling. Outside, the building's gateway entrance is falling apart.
The doors have been shut to the public since 2014, but that hasn't stopped neighbors and businesses next door from asking the city to do something.
"It's just been sitting there for so long," Jinkie's Coffee & Hangout Co-Owner Madi Dombrowski said. "It's an eyesore, it's not a great area. Not great people were hanging around. I think it's just unattractive."
Jinkie's Coffee & Hangout has sat next to the former bowling alley for years. Dombrowski explained she's seen quite a few break-ins and loitering.
"That's been the hardest thing," Dombrowski said. "For years, there was nothing done. And now all of sudden, [the city] is coming in and pushing it, which is great, but it was a long time before they got here."
Overland Park began officially investigating the structural safety of the building in June 2025. At the council meeting on October 20, city leaders deemed the building unsafe due to the rafters and support posts.
But it's not the first time neighbors say they've sounded the alarm to the city.
"I feel like [the city] had lots of years and opportunity to come in and say something, do something about it," Dombrowski said. "But it seems like they just kept pushing it off."
KSHB 41's Isabella Ledonne took those concerns to leaders with the City of Overland Park.
Meg Ralph, the city's strategic communications director, explained the city deeming the building unsafe is the process to hold the owner accountable for the disrepair.
"We know that the neighbors have had complaints with the property for quite a while more than the last few months," Meg Ralph said. "Some of those issues are what we would consider to be code compliance issues."
The city has received a dozen code complaints from neighbors from the last 10 years. Ralph explained those complaints have been regarding property maintenance, and the city has not received any complaints about structural integrity.
"If your paint is peeling on the outside of your house, it's a different scenario than the post that's holding your basement up," Ralph said. "Those are two very different situations."
Because the former bowling alley is private property, the city could not intervene until the owner started making repairs and doing work on the interior without a permit. That's when the city inspected the property, finding structural damages that prompted city action.
"It's not a short-term [safety issue] where everybody has to leave immediately, but it is something that you cannot allow to go on long term," Ralph said. "It's a situation where we don't want to negatively affect a private property owner unless we absolutely have to, but at the same time, we see a public safety issue."
If the owner doesn't complete the repairs by January 16, 2026, the city could do the repairs itself or demolish the building.
But demolishing the building would force one small business out of its home.
"[The damage] is far enough to where it doesn't affect me, but if it does, I'm going to have to pick up and move," Beastified Gym Owner Sidharth Balakri said. "This was always my dream to start a gym."
Balakri has leased his gym space from the owner of the former Incred-A-Bowl since 2024. The city has only deemed the portion of the building where the former bowling alley sat as unsafe and dangerous, but that hasn't helped Balakri's business.
"We are separate from the other side of the building. I'm fully permitted and safe inside this building," Balarki said. "But all [clients] heard was unsafe and dangerous. They don't know it's just one portion of the other side of the building that needs to be fixed."
The gym owner hopes his landlord fixes the building soon, before the city steps in and possibly tears down the building.
"The words unsafe and dangerous is an extreme, serious matter, and I wanted to make sure my clients were good to go," Balakri said. "What I want to see is a beautiful building."
KSHB 41's Isabella Ledonne reached out to the owner's office multiple times on Tuesday for a comment, but did not hear back.
