Stores As Schools: an Adaptive Reuse Alternative for Communities Dealing with Underutilized Commercial Space and Overcrowded Schools Jayne M
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2008 Stores as Schools: An Adaptive Reuse Alternative For Communities Dealing With Underutilized Commercial Space and Overcrowded Schools Jayne M. Bernhard University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Bernhard, Jayne M., "Stores as Schools: An Adaptive Reuse Alternative For Communities Dealing With Underutilized Commercial Space and Overcrowded Schools" (2008). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 144. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/144 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STORES AS SCHOOLS: AN ADAPTIVE REUSE ALTERNATIVE FOR COMMUNITIES DEALING WITH UNDERUTILIZED COMMERCIAL SPACE AND OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS A Thesis Presented by JAYNE M. BERNHARD Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF REGIONAL PLANNING MAY 2008 Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning i © Copyright by Jayne Bernhard 2008 All Rights Reserved ii STORES AS SCHOOLS: AN ADAPTIVE REUSE ALTERNATIVE FOR COMMUNITIES DEALING WITH UNDERUTILIZED COMMERCIAL SPACE AND OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS A Thesis Presented by JAYNE M. BERNHARD Approved as to style and content by: ____________________________________ Elisabeth Hamin, Chair ____________________________________ Mark Hamin, Member ____________________________________ Jane Thurber, Member __________________________________________ Elizabeth Brabec, Department Head Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning iii DEDICATION To my aunt and godmother Patricia Blackburn, whose strength has been an inspiration. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge my thesis committee members Elisabeth Hamin, Mark Hamin, and Jane Thurber. Each left their individual mark on the development of this thesis. Thanks are due to Henry Renski for teaching me how to project U.S. Census data with GIS. Even though these maps never made it into the thesis, I learned a lot! I would like to extend gratitude to the many people who allowed me to interview them. These interviews were not only informative, but also fun. I would like to thank my roommate Yveline Alexis for tolerating dirty dishes in the sink. Her steadfast commitment to making a difference in the world through academic pursuits motivated me each and every in day. Thanks to my friends David Elvin, Kathleen Cahill and Sarah Raposa. Their companionship for long durations at the library, camaraderie during study breaks and insightful comments on drafts helped get me through this long process. Thanks also to my parents who would patiently listen to my thesis tales. They have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Finally I would like to thank Andrew. Editor-in-chief and chief distracter, his support has meant everything. v ABSTRACT STORES AS SCHOOLS: AN ADAPTIVE REUSE ALTERNATIVE FOR COMMUNITIES DEALING WITH UNDERUTILIZED COMMERCIAL SPACE AND OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS MAY 2008 JAYNE M. BERNHARD, B.A., MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.R.P., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Elisabeth Hamin Over the past two decades, underused shopping malls and big-box stores have become more prevalent in the landscape, even as newer ones are built. Shopping centers from the last half of the twentieth century may not have been designed to serve uses other than commercial, but that does not mean these buildings must or should only be thought of as single-use spaces. Projects from across the United States demonstrate that large, empty commercial structures can become municipal complexes, new town centers, mixed-use complexes, office buildings, churches, and gymnasiums. They also can be rehabilitated to fill the need for new schools in communities where there is no suitable or cheap land, limited funds, overcrowding, and growing enrollments. This thesis identifies twelve cases where public school districts have converted former shopping malls or big-box stores into schools and conducts histories on three of these cases. A detailed comparative analysis of three school conversion projects in Burnsville, Minnesota, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Fort Myers, Florida is the foundation for the thesis research. By researching examples of retail conversion and assessing project history, this thesis determines common factors to these school projects vi and develops conclusions about relationships between school planning, growth management, and economic development. It develops a strong knowledge base that can be used to guide local governments interested in undertaking this type of initiative. Finally, the thesis demonstrates the importance of planning and building for future flexibility by underscoring the value of reusing the built form. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ xv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................xviii CHAPTER I IMPETUS AND EXPECTATIONS OF RESEARCH……………………………1 A. Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 a. Research Overview ............................................................................................. 1 b. Thesis Outline..................................................................................................... 2 B. Background to Research ......................................................................................... 3 a. Proliferation of Vacant Commercial Retail Structures ....................................... 3 i. Historical Development .................................................................................. 3 ii. Effects of Current Retail Trends..................................................................... 4 iii. Strategies for Managing Vacant Commercial Structures ............................... 5 1. Developer Strategies ................................................................................... 6 2. Municipal Strategies ................................................................................... 7 b. School Facility Planning..................................................................................... 7 i. Managing Growth ........................................................................................... 7 ii. Advocacy for Change ................................................................................... 10 C. Purpose of Research.............................................................................................. 12 II LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................... 13 A. Introduction........................................................................................................... 13 B. Commercial Retail Structures............................................................................... 14 a. Evolution of Suburban Shopping Center .......................................................... 14 b. Modern Commercial Stores: Types and Design Characteristics ...................... 17 viii c. Commercial Developments and Local Governments ....................................... 21 C. Educational Facilities............................................................................................ 23 a. Public Schools: Building and Site Characteristics............................................ 23 b. Trends in School Facility Planning................................................................... 26 D. Adaptive Reuse..................................................................................................... 30 a. Sustainability..................................................................................................... 33 b. Community Benefits......................................................................................... 33 c. Benefits and Challenges of Reuse..................................................................... 35 E. Adaptive Reuse School Projects ........................................................................... 37 a. Schools and Adaptive Reuse............................................................................. 37 b. Mall-to-School Projects.................................................................................... 38 F. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 41 III RESEARCH DESCRIPTION............................................................................... 42 A. Research Goals and Objectives............................................................................. 42 a. Research Purpose.............................................................................................. 42 b. Overview..........................................................................................................