Downtown Overland Park is experiencing a big boom.
With about 300 locally owned shops, restaurants, bars and Upper Crust, a nationally recognized bakery, people who live within walking distance say it’s a unique place to be.
“It is a little bit of a throwback to the 1950s with a lot of advantages to today’s technology,” said Janiece Vohland, who lives a few blocks away from downtown.
Downtown Overland Park runs from Metcalf, west to Conser and 78th to 82nd on the south. There’s a lot happening in the small stretch.
Downtown Overland Park
City officials attribute the new development, which includes apartments and retail, to a change in city code. About a decade ago, the city’s zoning ordinance was changed to allow buildings to be built up to five stories tall.
“That took place right during the recession,” said Doug Johnson, GIS and support services manager for Overland Park’s Planning and Development Services Department. “So for the first few years not much happened. As we came out of the recession, developer interest really spiked in downtown. And we’ve had several major projects, many of which are still under construction and a couple which are still yet to come.”
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