![20 Outside-the-Box Uses for Vacant Big-Box Stores](http://townsquare.media/site/341/files/2024/03/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-03-20T170105.382.jpg?w=980&q=75)
20 Outside-the-Box Uses for Vacant Big-Box Stores
Big-box retail has undergone significant changes. In the past, families would pack into their minivans and head to expansive, well-lit stores to stock up on essentials. However, the rise of online shopping disrupted this routine, leading to the closure of many large retail locations and the disappearance of some retailers altogether.
RELATED: These Are America's Favorite Grocery Stores
Yet, as communities contemplate the future of these spaces, one word keeps cropping up: Experience.
Online Spaces Are Convenient, but Cold
The one thing that online shopping has a hard time doing is providing a tactile experience. Whether it's a reason to come together as friends, or even a place to escape home for a bit (remember COVID?) people will always actively seek out places where they can create memorable moments, even if it's just to share them later on social media.
What Do Big-Box Spaces Have to Offer?
While retrofitting a historic building like a riverside mill often comes with numerous constraints, big-box retail spaces are essentially blank canvases. Add to that ample parking, central and easily accessed locations and you have something of a building conversion lover's dream.
Let's explore 20 outside-the-box ideas for how big-box spaces could usher in the next era of local experiences.
LOOK: 20 Outside-the-Box Uses for Vacant Big Box Stores
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
LOOK: 50 Famous brands that no longer exist
Gallery Credit: Liz Barrett Foster
More From 98.1 KHAK
![Celebrity Softball Game Is Coming To Cedar Rapids](http://townsquare.media/site/726/files/2023/07/attachment-ben-hershey-xJPCSJkxRys-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Iowa Farmers’ Market Named a ‘Must-Visit’ by Midwest Living](http://townsquare.media/site/675/files/2023/07/attachment-des.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Iowa Man Who Helped Oppenheimer Build The Atomic Bomb](http://townsquare.media/site/675/files/2023/07/attachment-bomb.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![A New Cedar Rapids Slider Restaurant Opens This Weekend](http://townsquare.media/site/675/files/2023/07/attachment-Untitled-design-95.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Top Golf Reveals Details About New Iowa Location [WATCH]](http://townsquare.media/site/675/files/2022/06/attachment-Topgolf.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Iowa Music Festival Officials Announce Who Will Be Replacing Major Act](http://townsquare.media/site/726/files/2022/11/attachment-Hinterland.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Iowa Don’t Fall For This New Scam Targeting Venmo Users](http://townsquare.media/site/712/files/2023/07/attachment-Untitled-design-1124.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Iowa’s Favorite Junk Food Is Delicious](http://townsquare.media/site/726/files/2023/07/attachment-JUNK-FOOD-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Luke Combs Brings Young Cancer Survivor On Stage To Sing ‘Fast Car’ [WATCH]](http://townsquare.media/site/204/files/2023/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2023-07-24T105330.320.jpg?w=980&q=75)