Walked through a closed Sears in Ohio and noticed the floor plan was weird

I was in Canton last week and someone gave me a tour of an old Sears that shut down in 2020. The layout had these massive support columns every 20 feet that would make it impossible to split into smaller retail spaces. Has anyone here successfully converted one of these big box stores into a multi-tenant setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

janaf764d ago

You've been inside one too, huh? Those columns are a nightmare. You basically have to build walls around them and lose a ton of floor space to alcoves and hallways. The real trick is to cut new entrances and maybe even punch holes in the exterior for separate storefronts. I've seen it work when the landlord is willing to demo out the old loading dock area for extra parking.

emeryr384d ago

Damn, the loading dock parking conversion is something I didn't even think about. How deep was the demo on that? Like did they have to dig out the whole foundation or just rip out the concrete and pave over it? I'm curious if the cost was worth the extra spaces or if it ended up being a money pit.