The Former Small Town Target Store That Found New "Light" As A School

In the Fall of 2017 the town of Fergus Falls, Minnesota was shocked and crushed.

Target had just announced plans to close its only store in the 15,000 person town in Western Minnesota.

City leaders pulled out all the stops to convince Target to stay.

But they were unsuccessful and the store closed for good in February 2018.

Exactly six years later, though, the closing of the Fergus Falls Target store is an afterthought in the area.

In large part because of the successful adaptive reuse of the 90,000 square foot building into a state-of-the art preschool and early childhood center.

A unique and creative reuse of the former Target that utilized “tubular daylighting solutions” to provide ample access to natural light in classrooms and interior spaces - even deep within the bowels of the cavernous Big Box building.

It turns out that shortly after the Target store closed, the Fergus Falls school district was dispatched with locating a new campus for the Lincoln School that houses its preschool and early childhood education programs.

But when school district officials priced the the cost to build a new school they received estimates at over $15 million, a sum that would have required a hefty special assessment and tax on the local population.

So district officials elected to focus on more cost effective options - such as the adaptive reuse of existing buildings.

Which led them to the former Target that had recently closed.

It was available for purchase from the retailer for approximately $1.5 million, a fraction of the cost to build a new facility from the ground up.

While district officials were intrigued by the low price of the building, they knew that the former Target was far from a perfect option to convert into a school - it would require additional financial resources and a bit of creativity.

Solutions were needed to ensure that the building would comply with updated fire codes, that windows could be efficiently cut into the exterior walls and that lighting plans would be effective - especially in the vast interior of the building that was to be subdivided into classrooms.

Bringing natural light throughout the building was of particular focus for Fergus Falls officials.

While windows could be added to exterior walls, they would not benefit the inner classrooms in the Big Box building.

So the architects brought on by the school district instead turned to “tubular daylighting solutions” that capture natural light from the building’s roof and direct it throughout areas of the entire building.

Tubular skylights manufactured by Solatube International were installed on the building rooftop to direct natural light into the interior of the building, including the classroom areas.

These “Solatube” devices use a rooftop dome to capture the sun's rays and transmit them inside the building, bringing natural sunlight into windowless indoor spaces and without harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays.

In all 49 Solatube SolaMaster units were installed on the building rooftop and now direct natural light into the interior of the building, regardless of the weather.

The amount of light that is directed to these indoor spaces is even sufficient to sustain plant life!

There are also daylight dimming functions so rooms can be darkened for student nap periods or multimedia presentations.

Exposure to natural light is known to boost levels of serotonin, which can improve mood and focus and reduce anxiety, and the regulation of circadian rhythms. It also promotes vitamin D production which plays a role in maintaining good mental health.

And it can be especially important for young people and students in particular where the physical environment - and ample access to natural light - can vastly enhance the learning experience.

In addition to use of tubular daylighting to bring natural light to the interior of the former Target, district officials extensively renovated the exterior of the building and added a secure main entrance, offices, a cafeteria, gym and classrooms.

A playground was even added to the outdoor area of the 9 acre site.

The Lincoln School now serves approximately 150 children and is a vibrant hub of daily activity.

And to top it off, the acquisition and retrofit of the former Target building was completed at roughly half of what it would have cost the district to develop a new school from the ground up.

The result was a win-win-win for all parties:

Target disposed of its excess property.

A new school was developed at a significant savings to Fergus Falls taxpayers.

And the adaptive reuse breathed new life - and new light - into an otherwise vacant building.