Could Former Drugstores Be Repurposed As Auto Body Shops and Collision Centers?

A proposed CVS-to-Gerber Collision conversion in Illinois did not happen -- but could be a template for the adaptive reuse of former drugstore buildings as auto body shops

An adaptive reuse of a former drugstore building as a collision center?

It has not been a common repurpose of drugstore real estate...yet.

But it nearly happened last year with a proposed CVS-to-Gerber Collision center conversion in Darien, Illinois.

And other similar adaptive reuse projects could be in the works.

In September 2023 Gerber Collision filed for a permit to convert a former CVS drugstore into an auto collision, repair and service center.

The ~14,000 square foot former drugstore building was located on a ~2 acre hard corner in the heart of town with area traffic flow of ~30,000 vehicles per day.

The use of the property as a collision center was permitted in its zoning district — subject to issuance by City Council of a special use permit.

Gerber developed plans to modify the drugstore building to provide auto service work by adding a garage door on its north side for vehicle drop off as well as two overhead doors on its west side for cars in need of repair to enter and exit.

But it planned to leave the rest of the building intact — with the exception of the drive thru window that would be removed so that the garage doors could be added.

Gerber planned for all vehicle work to be completed inside the building and proposed an advanced ventilation system to reduce odors.

A six foot opaque wall and enclosure was also to be added to the site so vehicles in need of repair could be parked outside of public view.

Finally, Gerber planned to only operate during standard business hours of Monday-Friday from 8 AM - 5 PM.

In November 2023 the Darien City Council approved a special use permit for the site in a 4-3 vote — despite vocal opposition from some area residents.

Unfortunately for Gerber these residents were not willing to give up without a fight.

The very next month fifty area residents and nearby property owners sued the City, Gerber and its developer partner in DuPage, IL County Court to stop the project from moving forward.

They alleged that the collision center would emit pollutants into the air, soil and water, cause runoff to nearby homes, and present safety issues.

In a January 2024 court filing the City's attorney asked a Judge to throw out the case since the residents (including many that lived within one mile of the building) did not show how they would be specifically damaged by the new use.

But Gerber elected to not wait out the litigation and instead terminated the proposed adaptive reuse project.

As for the former CVS building?

It did not remain vacant long.

Its owner of leased the building to the Salvation Army for a relocation of its area Family Store & Donation Center.

But even though the CVS-to-Gerber Collision conversion in Darien did not happen, drugstore-to-collision center reuses could make sense for other sites.

After all, Gerber’s proposed building plans and renovation budget were acceptable.

Plus there is also plenty of real estate availability — ~1,000 other former Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens drugstores have closed just in the past year.

Many of these drugstore buildings have a similar layout to the Darien CVS and could utilize the Gerber conversion plan.

And while residents of other communities may also take issue with a collision center use, other retail-to-auto body shop conversions have worked.

For instance, earlier this year Caliber Collision opened a new collision center in 20,000 square feet of a former Toys R Us building in Evansville, Indiana.

It is one of at least twenty five former Toys R Us sites that were repurposed for automotive uses.

And Caliber has also completed adaptive reuse projects of other retail buildings.

It even repurposed a former tile shop and mattress outlet in a Missouri shopping center into a collision center.

So while the proposed CVS-to-Gerber Collision adaptive reuse in Darien, Illinois did not happen, future repurposes of former drugstore buildings as auto body shops may certainly be possible.

Perhaps even likely.