HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 07-05 Empty big boxes are finding new purposes in Minnesota STAR TRIBUNE StarTribune
Empty big boxes are finding new =,,
purposes in Minnesota .-. .
Article by:Janet Moore ,o i%.'. '._ < „
Star Tribune
July 5,2014-4:49 PM
The ubiquitous big-box concept has reached middle age,
but many of the stores never had much of a life.
Kids'birthday parties are a major source of business
Bankruptcies,downsizing and changing needs among at the Big Thrill Faclory,at the intersection of Hwys.
P 9 9 9 9 and 101 in Minnetonka.
retailers resulted in thousands of closures nationwide. Feed Loader.
But fortunately,some of these dormant spaces have
entered inventive second acts,with Minnesota now home ^" -" A
to some of the more unusual examples of big-box reuse. a , - -
The Spam Museum in Austin,a venerable shrine to the - ; �: a ,y
canned meat,was once a shuttered Kmart.The Old • _ _ -
Country Buffet in St.Paul's Highland Park neighborhood --.,, –81/4. , '"'------
is now an Allina Health clinic.The Myth nightclub in
Maplewood,which features a variety of acts,is a former ,,.
Just for Feet sneaker store. ' - , - ; *
The trend of unconventional use of a big box will from this......to this A shuttered Kmart store made
for a lonely presence in New Hope.The Myth
continue as the nearly vacant Block E complex—former nightclub in Maplewood once housed a Just for Feet
home of Borders,Gameworks and Hooters—undergoes of storea .The closed K Spmaam rt Museum in Austin.Minn..grew out
a$50 million renovation into the new Mayo Clinic
Square,a sports medicine clinic,along with a practice Feed Loader,
facility for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.
Artist and academic Julia Christensen,who wrote a book
called"Big Box Reuse,"said each renovation of a big box
into a nontraditional use"displays a community's
resourcefulness and creativity."
Christensen,an assistant professor at Oberlin College in
Ohio,traveled the country looking for material for her
book.She found former big boxes being used as
libraries,churches,schools,museums(specifically,the Big Thrill Factory owner Barry Zelickson has
Spam museum)and,in her Kentucky hometown,a transformed the former Kmart in Minnetonka into a
courthouse. kids'paradise.
Photos by ELIZABETH FLORES•
"I became interested in civic reuse of these sites,and eflores @startribune.com,
thinking about how we are rebuilding our community
structures around the corporate infrastructure of big-box buildings,"she said.
Big boxes are generally defined as those housing discounters,such as Wal-Mart,Kmart and Target,or
"category killers"like Best Buy and Home Depot that feature a deep assortment of certain categories of
merchandise.These boxes dotted the landscape beginning in the early 1960s,as the suburbs boomed,
and really exploded in the 1990s and early 2000s.
But the Great Recession tore into big-box retailers'sales and profit margins as consumers pulled back on
purchases,causing many retailers to shutter stores,leaving cavernous spaces on the shopping scene.
Remember Linens'n Things and Circuit City?
"It was especially challenging to lease[stores]in this recession because it went on for so long,"said Tricia
Pitchford,senior director/brokerage services at Cushman&Wakefield/NorthMarq,a Bloomington-based
real estate firm.
At the same time,the rise of Internet shopping stifled demand for gigantic stores,as price-sensitive
shoppers armed with smartphones sought out the best deals in many venues,not just one store.Now,as
millennials move to the cities,top retailers are exploring"baby boxes"—smaller templates for stores.
In many cases,the shuttered stores still were in prime locations,said Pitchford,who tracks big boxes in the
metro area.At the height of the recession,there were 80 vacant big boxes in the Twin Cities market,she
said.There were 32 empty boxes at the close of 2014's first quarter,although the numbers constantly
change.In May,Rainbow Foods'parent Roundy's announced that it would sell nine stores in the metro.
Some vacated boxes have been filled by other retailers expanding in or into the local market,such as TJ
Maxx HomeGoods,Gordmans,Total Wine&More,even Goodwill.But other boxes simply morphed into
new entities entirely.
One of the most enduring reuses of big boxes involves medical offices and clinics.
Len Kaiser,director of network management for HealthEast Care System,says the ample parking,visibility
and access to other stores has proved popular with patients.So far,HealthEast has located a clinic in a
former Borders bookstore in the Midway area of St.Paul—abandoned when the chain went bankrupt;a
former EQ Life spa sandwiched between a Pottery Barn and a J.Crew store on Grand Avenue;and a spine
center in a space that was a Gander Mountain store.
With access to adjacent retail shops,"patients can get multiple things done in one trip,"Kaiser said."It usec
to be that medical office buildings were attached to hospitals,"he said,noting that former retail locations
are now the preferred real estate option whenever HealthEast expands."We don't really have a cookie--
cutter model for clinics."
Pitchford said one of her big-box reuses was an OB-GYN office—next to a JoAnn Fabric and Craft store.
The female demographic"loved it,"she said.
But retrofitting a former big box into a complicated medical office—or any other use,for that matter—can
prove challenging.
The Midway HealthEast clinic was two stories that had to be retrofitted to accommodate mammography,
physical therapy,lab and X-ray services,Kaiser said.Skylights(and natural light)were added to what was
an inward-facing box.Former grocery stores,like Rainbow,are fairly large and deep,making it difficult to
carve them up for a new user.
But if the location is right,a new concept and a little renovation can work.
Businessman Barry Zelickson had an idea for a family-oriented entertainment facility and searched for
some time before coming upon a shuttered Kmart store in Minnetonka.The location at Hwys.7 and 101
was primo,and the store featured outdoor space(the discounter's former auto repair shop and garden
center),which was important,because he wanted to feature outdoor attractions,as well.
That's how the Big Thrill Factory was born,opening in March 2013.The concept features bowling,laser
tag,an arcade,bumper cars,a cafe and birthday-party rooms inside,and mini-golf,trampolines,a giant
slide and a climbing wall outside.There's no hint of any blue-light specials,nor of the drive-in theater that
was there before Kmart moved in.
The renovation took months,Zelickson said "Any time you retool something,it's going to be more difficult
than starting from scratch."
He won't reveal the investment cost,except to say it was significant,but says business is"going great."
He's in the process of adding new attractions.
Janet Moore•612-673-7752
0 2014 Star Tribune