When developer Tom Valenti pitched his vastly reworked proposal for the Mission Gateway project to Mission’s city council and planning commission last week, he told the group that the expanded 175,000 square foot Walmart he is now pushing “does not have to look like a big box.” He referred the city officials to a Walmart supercenter at 159th and Metcalf in south Overland Park as an example.

So, we decided to take a trip down to see what he meant. Here are several shots of that building.

Here’s the sign along Metcalf:

Here is a shot of the main entrance, which faces east, shot from the south:

Here is the north facade of the building:

Here is the south facade of the building:

And here’s a detail shot from the garden center entrance: