The Video Rental Chain That Became An Adaptive Reuse Real Estate Company
Family Video's movie rental business did not survive but the Company has thrived by repurposing its real estate into a variety of new - and sometimes unique - uses
The Family Video movie rental chain was started by the Hoogland Family in 1978.
Although later a rival to industry giant Blockbuster Video, Family Video differentiated by opening stores primarily in small cities, suburbs and rural areas.
Family Video eventually grew to over 750 locations in 19 states and Canada.
But the majority of the Illinois-based chain's stores were in small Midwestern towns and suburbs.
Family Video differed from Blockbuster in a number of ways: it did not share revenue with movie studios, it was exclusively family owned, it eschewed leverage…
And it developed and owned virtually all of its real estate.
The original Family Video store prototype was a ~7,000 square foot freestanding building on a 1-2 acre site.
The buildings were generally located on a main road and featured a sloped green roof and a glass obelisk outside the front door.
Family Video's internally owned affiliate – Legacy Commercial Property – developed its stores and managed its real estate in a proactive manner.
For instance when 7,000 square feet became too large for a shrinking video rental business, Legacy demised portions of the buildings and leased the space out to tenants like Dairy Queen, H&R Block, Subway and others.
In many cases, an affiliate of Family Video itself occupied the space.
Such as Marco’s Pizza franchises that were opened by the Hoogland Family’s restaurant company.
In fact, the Hoogland Restaurant Group has grown to over 125 Marco’s Pizza locations — most located in parts of Family Video buildings — and is the largest franchisee of the Toledo-based pizza chain.
Family Video outlasted Blockbuster and its other video rental store competitors by many years.
But low foot traffic and the lack of movie releases during the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately spelled the end for Family Video’s retail operation.
In January 2021 the Hoogland Family issued a brief letter to customers and employees that thanked them for Family Video’s success but noted that its remaining video rental stores would be closing after 41 years.
However it made a point to state that Legacy Commercial Property would continue to own, manage, lease and repurpose the Family Video real estate.
And over the past three years Legacy has done exactly that.
It has repurposed former Family Video stores into restaurants, medical centers, bookstores, optical stores, doggy day care facilities and vet clinics, among other uses.
Even more unique is an adaptive reuse of a former Family Video building in Sylvania, Ohio into the Goldfish Swim School.
The building now includes a standard size lap pool that is four feet deep and offers year-round, small class swim training as well as family swim options.
There are also private changing rooms, a snack bar and a retail shop.
Another interesting repurpose of a former Family Video store is the Scrims E-Sports Gaming Center in Lisle, Illinois.
Scrims is a 6,000 square foot modern arcade with over 60 high powered gaming PCs and consoles — including Xboxes, Oculus VR and Nintendo Switches — that offer access to hundreds of game titles.
It is open to “casual gamers” seeking to play solo or with friends — and also hosts exclusive league play, live local tournaments and esports instructional programs and camps.
The Family Video building in Burton, Michigan has been converted into a DashMart — or the DoorDash version of a “ghost” convenience store.
The ~7,000 square “store” isn’t open to the public but instead serves as a micro-fulfillment center for items ordered by customers for delivery on the DoorDash app.
DashMart sites stock ~2,000 grocery and convenience items and online orders are quickly packed for Dashers to pick up and deliver — usually within 30 minutes.
Another interesting adaptive reuse is the Family Video-to-Tint World conversion in Rowlett, Texas.
The 7,200 square foot building that previously housed Family Video was overhauled into an automotive styling center and garage that provides paint protection film, vehicle wraps, audio systems, custom wheels and other automotive accessories.
These are just some examples of Legacy Commercial Property’s efforts to transform and repurpose the former Family Video real estate.
While the Hoogland Family and Legacy Commercial Property have made significant progress over the past several years to reposition the properties, many more Family Video buildings await their next use...
Or adaptive reuse!