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. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press

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. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press

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. | Credit: Mansfield Crossing

This old Round Rock, Texas, Walmart enjoyed a stint as a RPM Indoor Raceway. The building was eventually redeveloped as a strip mall. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press

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. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press

An abandoned Kmart became a charter elementary school for 500 students in Charlotte, N.C. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press

Flea market vendors took over an abandoned Kmart in Fayetteville, N.C. Several old box stores have enjoyed a similar fate, according to Christensen. | Credit: Julia Christensen, Big Box Reuse, MIT Press