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30 Mar 2012 6:32 PM

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Finding a use for 40,000 to 200,000 square feet of space is one of the biggest challenges of reusing box stores, says Christensen. Here, the community of Lebanon, Mo., turned an old Kmart into a county library, cafe, and Route 66 museum.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size
The Calvary Chapel in Pinellas Park, Fla., moved from an abandoned Winn-Dixie grocery store to an old Walmart. Walmart has a history of abandoning stores in favor of locations a stone’s throw away. Walmart won’t sell the empty stores to competitors, so let’s praise Calvary Chapel for finding a use.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size
The Borders bookstore chain shut down in 2011. This winter in Mansfield, Mass., Mansfield Crossing, the owners of one of the chain’s former buildings, turned the store into an indoor ice skating rink.
Mansfield Crossing Full Size
This old Round Rock, Texas, Walmart enjoyed a stint as a RPM Indoor Raceway. The building was eventually redeveloped as a strip mall.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size
An old Kmart made the perfect location for a new Spam museum. "Spambassadors" guide visitors through a mock assembly line, under giant spam patties, and by a wall made of 3,390 spam cans.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size
An abandoned Kmart became a charter elementary school for 500 students in Charlotte, N.C.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size
Flea market vendors took over an abandoned Kmart in Fayetteville, N.C. Several old box stores have enjoyed a similar fate, according to Christensen.
Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press Full Size

Thinking inside the big box: Seven brilliant uses for abandoned chain stores

By Grist staff

There are two kinds of people: Those who look at abandoned big box stores littering the American landscape and see senseless blight — and those who see an opportunity to create something new. Here are some examples of the latter, many of them from Julia Christensen’s book, Big Box Reuse.

Read more: Business & Technology, Climate & Energy

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Thinking inside the big box: Seven brilliant uses for abandoned chain stores

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