OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Overland Park City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the purchase and renovation of a new city hall building at 6201 College Blvd.
Facilities engineer Tony Rome says the current building lacks enough space for its employees who work on site, is not conveniently located for Overland Park residents and has recurring mechanical issues.
The current city hall has two campuses: 8500 Antioch and 8500 Santa Fe. The original wing was built in 1967, and the new wing was added in 1986.
During the last renovation, during the COVID-19 pandemic, desks and counters were consolidated on the second floor above the main lobby, security features were added, walls were moved, and money was spent to refresh the carpet, ceiling tiles and paint.
Despite $4 million in renovations over the last 10 years, the bandages are coming off.
“It no longer allows city staff to meet the needs and the expectations of the great residents of Overland Park,” Rome said. “We’re at a breaking point where we don’t have anywhere else to put people.”
Overcrowded and outdated, the Overland Park City Council has been discussing a new city hall for 30 years.
Rome says lack of parking, failing systems, one main access point and one elevator for the whole building are some of the biggest issues.
“It’s had outages from time to time, and some of those outages have lasted weeks,” Rome said.
The inconvenience is magnified on days when more people from the community are in the building for town halls, meetings and other engagements.
“When the elevator goes down, what happens is, the second floor of the building and the basement become inaccessible to people with ADA needs, or just even staff members who’re injured or just had surgery," Rome said.
The city conducted a programming study to see if construction and renovations to the current building would be possible. Ultimately, engineers and architects concluded the site is not in a viable position to expand up or out.
Rome says the new building, located at 6201 College Blvd., will provide a more centralized location with 50% more space to spread out.
Employees say right now, departments that work next to each other do not make sense. For example, Public Works operates on the second floor, while construction inspectors, who work closely with Public Works, are located in the basement.
“The lack of adjacency is making it really inefficient for city staff, sometimes, to do their jobs, which in turn really delays services for members of the public,” Rome said.
The full project will take $109 million from the Reserve Fund. The deal will officially close by the end of this year, design and public input will start in 2026, and renovations will break ground in 2029 to honor the leases of current tenants.
Public input may come in the form of town halls or surveys to hear what residents would like in the new council chamber, community meeting spaces and grand entrance.
“The full move-in is really scheduled to be complete by 2034,” Rome said.
Rome believes happy people love where they live and work. As Overland Park looks forward to another 65 years, he hopes residents will be proud of their city.
“I think that a new city hall can more better reflect the community, the residents and their expectations,” Rome said.
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