Last week, I talked about what makes repurposed buildings such a great choice for businesses and communities. Now, I’d like to look at the kinds of buildings savvy business owners are reclaiming and renovating.
The options for repurposed buildings are limited only by supply and your (and your architect’s) imagination. Existing offices and retail spaces are obvious possibilities, but there are two other types of building that have been particularly popular – and possibly surprising – candidates for repurposing.
Gas Stations
Abandoned gas stations are a common site in many communities. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, the number of retail gas stations dropped by more than 50,000 between 1994 and 2013.
As the exuberant automobile culture of the past century gives way to the environmental concerns and alternative-fuel vehicles of our present, the stations that once signaled a community’s middle-class prosperity and dotted urban and suburban landscapes, highway exits and on-ramps have closed, leaving vacant eyesores in their wake.
Savvy, imaginative business owners have been buying these empty stations and turning them into restaurants and other retail spots that benefit from former gas stations’ prime positions at busy street corners.
The iconic look of some of these buildings is a perfect fit for businesses that can benefit from the retro aesthetic combined with a small footprint and a strong local history and flavor. One of my favorite examples is Calistoga’s Tank Garage Winery tasting room, which uses its unusual space to create a unique and inviting gathering space, with its speakeasy-like atmosphere and pinball machine.
Olio, a restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri, is another playful gas station repurposing, serving Israeli-inspired fare to diners in a small, updated but still-recognizable 1930s-era Standard Oil station.
Factory & Industrial Spaces
On the opposite end of the size spectrum, abandoned factories and other industrial buildings offer great possibilities for business owners and entrepreneurs who need more space.
Like gas stations, factories have fallen victim to changing times and a national economy that has shifted away from manufacturing. Many of these buildings have tremendous historical significance in their communities, making them ripe for repurposing at the center of local life and economy.
These spaces are often large and open, offering lots of flexibility; they can be turned into single-use spaces for special purposes like galleries or performance venues, or divided into multi-use buildings with retail or office space, or a combination of both.
A great example of the former is London’s Tate Modern, one of the world’s largest public galleries specializing in modern and contemporary art.
Repurposed from the city’s former Bankside Power Station, the Tate Modern was designed by architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron after an international competition. The architects retained the basic interior structure of the old power station and, among other renovations, added a glass extension over part of the roof, giving it a look that is at once modern and reflective of the mid-century industrial building it once had been.
Retaining the enormous turbine and oil tank spaces from the original building has allowed the museum to host expansive installations that would be possible almost nowhere else, including Louise Bourgois’ I Do, I Undo, I Redo, which opened the new gallery and allowed visitors to climb staircases to three towers containing platforms where they could interact with one another and with the giant steel spider – called “Maman” – that overlooked the towers.
While the Tate Modern used its former industrial space for expansive art, London’s Battersea Power Station is being transformed into a multi-use urban center comprising eco-friendly flats, retail spaces, restaurants, offices, art galleries and other entertainment facilities, plus a new power station designed to provide the city with clean, renewable energy.
The old power station is on the list of the most important historic places in England and is considered a significant example of inter-war architecture (the initial station was built between 1925 and 1935). You’ll recognize the structure from the cover of Pink Floyd’s album Animals, and from lots of films, including The Dark Knight, Nineteen Eight-Four and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. Tearing it down wasn’t a palatable option, but leaving it vacant wasn’t economically desirable. The developers have created a great opportunity for businesses to occupy a newly vibrant space while keeping an important historical structure intact.
These examples of projects small and large are just a taste of what you can achieve with repurposed buildings with the help of a little imagination and an architect familiar with your industry and your location.
This post first ran in 2019.