As early as Sept. 1, the now-vacant building that was home to Incred-A-Bowl could reopen with its first tenant.
Beastified will be a gym and supplement store, occupying about 8,500 of the roughly 67,000 square feet of the building.
‘Venice Beach / Muscle Beach’ vibes
Owners Andy Phung and Sid Balakrishnan are opening their second store; their first supplement store of the same name is at 14363 Metcalf Ave. The two men relocated to Johnson County from San Diego in 2021 and opened the business in May 2022. Both men have a background in fitness training, and are excited to have the opportunity to launch a gym in southern Johnson County.
“This place will have a Venice Beach, Muscle Beach-type vibe,” Phung said. ““This isn’t going to be a ‘country club’ type gym.”
Balakrishnan said they have a vision for a fitness facility that caters to everyone from serious bodybuilders to military vets, like himself, who want a positive atmosphere to channel their energy. Plus, Beastified fits in with plenty of other fitness options in the immediate area (including Hustle and Heart Fitness, just a few doors down from the building).
“We have a vision of elegance, but also a kind of grittiness that you don’t get at modern gyms,” Balakrishnan said.
That includes pendulum squat and hip thrust machines, but also a “posing room” for members to see their workout results from every angle, while surrounded by mirrors.
What’s happening to the rest of the Incred-A-Bowl building
When the building opened in 1997, Incred-A-Bowl featured bowling, laser tag, miniature golf, and arcade. Incred-A-Bowl belonged to former Royals pitcher Danny Jackson and his wife, Jody. Incred-A-Bowl closed in May 2015, and the Jacksons sold the building months later to NMS LLC, which is owned by Paramjeet Sabharwal. NMS operates MISH Hospital and Clinics in Lenexa.
Reagan O’Toole, Senior Associate at Colliers Kansas City, a local real estate company, said many concepts are still being explored for what will become of the remaining space in the building.
“Nothing has stuck, yet,” O’Toole said. “Having the gym opening up soon will likely move up the process of filling the other vacancies. You could see a (portion) of it made into event space, along with other retail tenants.”
Early in Sabharwal’s ownership of the building, he considered transforming the structure into a medical facility. In 2016, the city approved preliminary plans to create a hospital with a focus on weight loss surgery. Sabharwal, a general surgeon, also owns two office buildings nearby, which have been the source of controversy due to pages of code violations. A plan for the two office buildings was approved in May from the Overland Park City Council.
Go deeper: Overland Park OKs plan for offices next to vacant Incred-A-Bowl
Ben McCarthy is a contributor to the Post and other publications in the Kansas City area. He can be reached at ben.c.mccarthy@gmail.com with questions, comments and story suggestions.
