These Former Big Box Retail Buildings Have Been Repurposed As Schools
Several Former Retail Properties Have Been Repurposed For Education — From Early Childhood Centers and Schools To Career Academies and Even Technical Centers
When Hobby Lobby and Price Chopper Supermarket closed a few years back in a Missouri shopping center there was concern about possible long-term vacancy.
But the space did not remain empty long.
North Kansas City (NKC) Schools acquired the side-by-side Big Box retail buildings and renovated them into a $24 MM, ~115K sf early childhood center.
A similar situation unfolded with a shuttered Target in the 15,000 person town of Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
The Lincoln School now serves approximately 150 children and is a vibrant hub of daily activity.
The acquisition and retrofit of the former Target building also eliminated what could have been a long-term building vacancy in the rural Western Minnesota town.
And it was also completed for $8 MM, significantly less than the ~$15 MM it would have cost the district to develop a new school from the ground up.
These are just two examples of the many former Big Box retail buildings that have been repurposed for education — including for early childhood centers, high schools and career academies.
Repositioning A Shopping Center Into A Preschool and Early Childhood Center
North Kansas City Schools estimates that it saved ~$17 MM by acquiring and repurposing the retail properties rather than constructing a new school building from the ground up.
And its construction timeline was also accelerated since most work was limited to interior renovation and building upgrades as the structure was already in place.
The early education center was designed to serve 800 students including approximately 400 with special needs
It includes more than 40 classrooms and offers preschool, special education and training support programs
The center's walls feature huge, colorful graphics and lighting displays, spaces equipped with sensory experiences, and discovery zones for indoor play
Large skylights were place throughout the building to provide access to natural light
And a portion of the asphalt parking lot was removed so that a fenced playground could be added.
Interestingly even though Prospect Plaza's Big Box retail anchors were replaced by the school, its remaining 75,000 square feet continues to be occupied by other retail and convenience tenants.
Unique Lighting Solutions Helped Transform a Minnesota Big Box Building
A big issue in Big Box adaptive reuse?
Access to natural light - especially in the vast interior of the buildings.
But solutions exist that redirect natural light into these spaces.
Like that were used in the conversion of the former Fergus Falls Target store into a preschool.
Architects turned to "tubular daylighting solutions" to capture natural light from the building’s roof and direct it throughout areas of the entire building.
49 SolaMaster devices were installed on the building's rooftop.
They use a rooftop dome to capture the sun's rays and transmit them inside the building, bringing natural sunlight into windowless indoor spaces regardless of weather and without harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays.
And there is a daylight dimming function so rooms can be darkened for nap periods.
The amount of light directed to these indoor spaces is even sufficient to sustain plant life and has resulted in students and teachers feeling less confined and claustrophobic than can often be the case in windowless classrooms with only electric lighting.
Exposure to natural light is known to boost levels of serotonin, which can improve mood and focus, reduce anxiety, help regulate circadian rhythms and promote vitamin D production which plays a role in maintaining good mental health.
And ample access to natural light can vastly enhance the learning experience for young people and students.
The Lincoln School now serves approximately 150 children and is a vibrant hub of daily activity.
And the adaptive reuse of the former Target store 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 adaptive reuse breathed new life — and new light — into a vacant building
There are many other examples of Big Box retail buildings repurposed as schools.
Like the 177,000 square foot Career Academy in Moorhead, Minnesota where skilled trades like carpentry, welding and metalwork are taught to high school students — in a former Sam’s Club.
Or the former Lowe's in Gurnee, Illinois that is now an Advanced Technology Center (ATC) for the College of Lake County.
It now features a showcase central atrium that connects two lab areas:
A 27,000 square foot welding and fabrication lab for students to learn welding techniques and process and a 12,000 square foot industrial technology area stocked with over $5 million of machinery and designed for students to learn how to install, operate and repair manufacturing equipment.
The College of Lake County has not even absorbed all of the space in the former Lowe’s store.
It is still working on future phases of the ATC, including the buildout of an additional 85,000 square feet of the building for manufacturing education.
And, like the other profiled examples, offer yet another unique blueprint on how to repurpose former Big Box retail space for education.