A pictoral in Slate shows how abandoned Wal-Mart and KMart stores are being rennovated for other uses:
The challenges of repurposing big-box stores are not limited to dealing with their unwieldy size. Often, the real estate can be tied up in complicated arrangements.
The potential buyer of a big-box store might encounter any number of stipulations on what the building, parking lot, and land can be used for in the future. The deed specified that the structure could not be used by one of Wal-Mart's various competitors for several decades. But for the moment, at least, churches aren't on that list.
These stipulations can make it difficult for other businesses to move into an abandoned big-box — but they also open up such spaces for more creative use. The Calvary Chapel in Pinellas Park FL purchased an abandoned Wal-Mart building across the street from its previous home.
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