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Seen a few strip malls and even one small town downtown corridor converted to government services offices. While it is good to reuse an existing structure with

Seen a few strip malls and even one small town downtown corridor converted to government services offices. While it is good to reuse an existing structure with a little help from zoning the land and supporting utilities can be re purposed to other uses that require good traffic qualities and location; schools, churches, car dealerships and even apartments. I would think the unmentioned issue is, did the area collapse around the store that supported it or was this simply caused by bigger and better nearby? If its the former then getting people back into the area could be challenging and makes it much more suited to government offices or such

unit91 10y ago
If done right, reutilization can really revitalize a dying area. When Rackspace bought an abandoned shopping mall, the City of Windcrest (very small San Antonio suburb) was on it's way out. [1, 2] With the Rackspace infusion, the immediate vicinity appears to be much improved. As a casual passer-by, I think the area looks better now than it did 15 years ago! [2] ETA: I don't work for Rackspace, and never have. I also don't own any stock. Just glad they bought the mall. Sources: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rackspace-revitalizes-a-defunct-mall-into-an-unorthodox-tech-campus.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rack... 2. My sensory experience :-)
- pm90 10y ago
  Disclaimer: I worked for Rackspace not so long ago. Yes, they have an interesting strategy of buying abandoned malls and re purposing them into huge office complexes. The great thing is I guess they get a LOT of real estate for very cheap. If you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend going inside the Castle, as the San Antonio headquarters is known. We had a lot of warnings to keep our cars locked and laptops secured in the trunks to prevent break-ins, but it seems like things have greatly improved now. AFAIK, it works for Rackspace because its culture is very very egalitarian: even the CEO has a cubicle (there are many private conference rooms and such for meetings). So basically, they take over a mall and divide the floor space into cubicles and voila, you now have an insane amount of real estate. They did the same thing with a dying mall in Austin as well. Many people I've met have been amused by this strategy but hey, all that space means that they have an office gym, yoga rooms and whatnot. All for very cheap. Personally I think its a brilliant idea.

unit91 10y ago

If done right, reutilization can really revitalize a dying area. When Rackspace bought an abandoned shopping mall, the City of Windcrest (very small San Antonio suburb) was on it's way out. [1, 2] With the Rackspace infusion, the immediate vicinity appears to be much improved. As a casual passer-by, I think the area looks better now than it did 15 years ago! [2] ETA: I don't work for Rackspace, and never have. I also don't own any stock. Just glad they bought the mall. Sources: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rackspace-revitalizes-a-defunct-mall-into-an-unorthodox-tech-campus.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/realestate/commercial/rack... 2. My sensory experience :-)

pm90 10y ago
Disclaimer: I worked for Rackspace not so long ago. Yes, they have an interesting strategy of buying abandoned malls and re purposing them into huge office complexes. The great thing is I guess they get a LOT of real estate for very cheap. If you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend going inside the Castle, as the San Antonio headquarters is known. We had a lot of warnings to keep our cars locked and laptops secured in the trunks to prevent break-ins, but it seems like things have greatly improved now. AFAIK, it works for Rackspace because its culture is very very egalitarian: even the CEO has a cubicle (there are many private conference rooms and such for meetings). So basically, they take over a mall and divide the floor space into cubicles and voila, you now have an insane amount of real estate. They did the same thing with a dying mall in Austin as well. Many people I've met have been amused by this strategy but hey, all that space means that they have an office gym, yoga rooms and whatnot. All for very cheap. Personally I think its a brilliant idea.