How Adaptive Reuse Revitalizes Communities

Shopping Malls Find New Life as College Campuses CLEVELAND — Where teenagers once congregated around food courts and shoppers browsed department store racks, students now hurry to lectures, study in converted retail spaces, and even live in former anchor stores. Across America, developers and educational institutions are reimagining struggling shopping centers as college campuses and student housing, creating an unexpected second act for these fading temples of consumerism. These spaces were built for crowds, The infrastructure is already perfectly suited for educational purposes—wide corridors, multiple entrances, food service capabilities, and acres of parking. The transformation makes financial sense. Construction costs for new university buildings have soared past $500 per square foot in many regions, while renovating existing mall structures can cost 30 to 40 percent less, according to the American Association of College Facilities Officers. At the former Eastgate Mall outside Cincinnati, classrooms now occupy what was once a Sears. Students study in a library housed in an old JCPenney, while the food court serves as a student union with healthier dining options than its previous incarnation. "We're addressing two problems simultaneously," said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Karma Singh Pureval. "We're preventing urban blight while expanding educational access in communities that desperately need it." The trend is spreading nationwide. The University of Arizona established a campus at The Bridges, a converted Tucson mall complex. Northern Virginia Community College transformed a vacant Macy's into a medical training center complete with simulation labs. For students, the benefits extend beyond novelty. Mall-campuses tend to be more accessible by public transportation than traditional universities, serving commuter students and those from lower-income backgrounds who cannot afford to live on campus. Some developers are even converting upper floors and outparcels into affordable student housing, addressing another critical need in higher education. Educational leaders see these conversions as more than stopgap solutions. The approach fights urban blight while providing local educational opportunities that don't require students to leave their communities. "Instead of one massive central campus, universities can create satellite locations where students already live and work." With retail analysts predicting thousands more mall closures in the coming decade, and higher education facing infrastructure challenges, these conversions represent an elegant solution to multiple problems. What was once a sign of economic decline may become the classroom of tomorrow.

#Adaptivereuse is driven by building stock. In places like #Tampa and #Charlotte, older warehouses, historic storefronts, and industrial spaces are getting a second life—because the bones are there. #Orlando? The opportunities are fewer, and too often, buildings disappear before we ever get the chance to reimagine them. We’ve made adaptive reuse our calling card because it’s not just about preservation—it’s about transformation. We’ve turned 1940s warehouses into modern office spaces and art studios, layered architectural features over old structures, and exposed materials to show their elemental beauty and to tell a story. Net Conversion’s downtown Orlando office is a prime example: preserving as much of the original materials and structure made the space feel authentic—because it is. That office will carry them through the 21st century, on the back of mid-20th century materials. Cities that value adaptive reuse create more interesting, layered places. That’s why we’ve been watching the light rail development in Charlotte—because infrastructure drives reuse, and reuse builds character. The alternative? Scraping buildings and replacing them with bland, oversized developments that lack connection to their surroundings. Not every building should be saved, but when we get the chance, we take it. Because good design isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about how a building meets the street, how people move through it, and how a place makes you feel. What cities are getting adaptive reuse right? And how do we push Orlando to do the same? Images 1-2: Interstruct HQ in Parramore; Images 3-11: Net Conversion HQ at 141 N. Magnolia in downtown Orlando; Images 12-13: 1900 Diversified Way, Orlando's Packing District; Images 14-16: former cigar factory, 1403 N. Howard, Tampa; Images 17-19, Spaulding Decon HQ in Ybor City #AdaptiveReuse #UrbanDesign #Placemaking #ThoughtfulDevelopment Jim Heid, FASLA, Branson Bowen, Matt Coticchio, Richard Monroe, Frank Vertolli,

The rehabilitation of the former Mesbla (a magazine store) building is yet another victory for Reviver Centro and an innovative vision for urban regulation. It shows that revitalizing Brazil's central areas, severely impacted by the pandemic and its vacant office buildings, is entirely feasible. Take a look at the stunning view from the building, now set to be revealed with the return of housing and urban life—photos I took in July 2021. Well, I did everything wrong, right? Many brilliant CEOs insisted it would never work. I even heard from a businessman that competent people are only found in the private sector. There are witnesses. But this result is the product of PUBLIC POLICY, the work of public servants, and the will of political leadership—one that never ignored the power of the private sector. It’s worth reflecting on how we fail to build bridges and how, too often, we construct mental walls instead. Observe that these viable adaptive reuses owe their feasibility to visionary yet straightforward regulation—one that treats urban economics as a strategic tool to attract private real estate investment. It seeks scale and effective impact by linking underutilized real estate assets in the city center—properties with little to no market value—to stronger, high-value real estate markets in other neighborhoods. This mechanism creates a more balanced urban economy, allowing for reinvestment in neglected areas. A useful analogy is Brazil’s URV (Real Value Unit), a transitional currency used in the 1990s to stabilize the country’s hyperinflated economy. It acted as a bridge between the collapsing Cruzeiro and the introduction of the Real, Brazil’s stable national currency. Just as the URV indexed and balanced monetary values during an economic shift, this urban policy ties stagnant central properties to thriving real estate markets, making reinvestment viable. The public space in the city center remains a priority. It must become increasingly organized, safe, and welcoming, with environmental amenities and child-friendly spaces. The future belongs to the children! #impact #urbanism

The 28th post in my "32 days of Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia" project. Case Study II.28: Bell Works, Holmdel, NJ In 1962 Bell Labs built a spectacular telephonic research facility on a pristine landscape in the affluent suburban Township of Holmdel in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Reinhabited as Bell Works, it is a new model for the twenty-first-century suburban workplace, and a model for sensitive adaptive reuse of landmark 20th works of architecture. The building, designed by famed modernist architect #EeroSaarinen, is a black-mirrored glass box, 1.9 million square feet, six stories high, and a quarter of a mile long, surrounded by ornamental lakes and an oval of parking lots, designed by equally famed landscape architect #HideoSasaki. Bell Labs was a storied place of innovation where scientists and inventors made many of the groundbreaking discoveries in telecommunications, from the touch-tone phone to UNIX, digital cellphone technology, and fiber-optic cables. Vacated in 2006, the property was acquired by Inspired by Somerset Development with a scheme to reinhabit the building, and a zoning allowance in place for 225 new residential units, the majority restricted to the older adult market. The implemented renovation scheme updates the building’s common spaces with a playful design vibe, replacing Saarinen's white metal partitions with glass walls. Rather than providing a setting for (mostly male) scientists to have epiphanies in isolation staring at nature, the redesign encourages the bubbling of new ideas through serendipitous, diverse social interactions. Instead of one business tenant, there are dozens in this prototype #metroburb, plus a Montessori daycare and preschool and a branch public library for Holmdel. Team: Alexander Gorlin Architects, npz studio+ #RetrofittingSuburbia #urbandesign #urbandevelopment #regreening #reinhabitation #CompeteforJobs #SupportanAgingPopulation ULI Australia Suburban Futures Ellen Dunham-Jones Mike Day Hatch

Sometimes your limitations can be your strengths. Sometimes the old can be the new. Sometimes the challenge is the solution. One of these examples in my work came in the form of an old power pole. In 2014, Runway Group was working on an adaptive reuse project in downtown #Bentonville at the site of a former lumber yard. On the site there was a 63-foot tall pole that was an eye sore and in the way of future plans. The pole was giant and "grandfathered" into the building so in my mind it had trapped value as something other than just a pole, but what could it be? The idea for the redevelopment was to have a multi-tenant space that would ultimately house multiple hospitality and retail offerings. The building was just far enough from the town square that we feared customers wouldn't consider it part of the growing downtown scene. What could we do? Insert creativity I lobbied to keep the pole and turn it into a beacon for the project. With 63 feet of space, it certainly could stand out and if done right be an icon for the development to rally around. This led me to engage with local artist Dayton Castleman to create a concept using the pole. This ultimately led to the creation of the "Three Feathers" neon arrow. The project was one of the first public art pieces and ushered in a whole new era of iconic neon pieces that the town is becoming known for. The old pole acted as a catalyst for reimagining what could be, and in turn, encapsulated the very core of the project's adaptive reuse vision of taking the old and forgotten and turning it into the new and the unforgettable.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? You innovate. When the pandemic emptied office buildings around the globe, most saw a crisis. Gensler saw an opportunity. Architect Steven Paynter and his team realized that many of these vacant office spaces could find a second life as residential buildings. However, evaluating the conversion potential of each property was a slow, costly process. Instead of throwing his hands up in defeat, his team got to work on developing an algorithm that could determine conversion feasibility in hours instead of weeks. By analyzing 150 key factors—like window depth, elevator count, and parking space availability—Gensler created a tool that turned complexity into simplicity. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿, 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀: • 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭,𝟮𝟬𝟬+ 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 • 𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟮𝟵 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 As you can imagine, adaptive reuse of buildings minimizes demolition debris, which constitutes approximately 90% of the half a billion tons of construction waste generated annually in the U.S. Building conversions also lead to construction cost reductions of 25% to 35% compared to new builds, making them a financially viable option for developers. Not to mention, transforming underutilized office spaces into residential units enhances property values and attracts investment, contributing to economic growth in urban centers. Take Baton Rouge, where a Brutalist office building from the 1960s became 144 modern residential units. Or the Pearl House in New York, now the city’s largest office-to-residential conversion project. But this isn’t just about real estate—it’s about solving difficult problems with an upgraded mindset. Paynter’s team didn’t just adapt; they innovated. They turned a challenge into a scalable solution that’s reshaping how cities work and live. How can you apply this thinking to your own organization? • 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: What problems could you solve by looking at them from a new angle? • 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Gensler’s algorithm worked because it was fast, simple, and actionable. Can you streamline a process to unlock potential? • 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀: It wasn’t just about offices—it was about revitalizing communities. What larger purpose can your innovation serve? Gensler’s story reminds us that innovation isn’t reserved for the tech giants—it’s for anyone willing to rethink the status quo and turn challenges into catalysts. What challenges could you reimagine in your organization today? Share your thoughts below, and let’s inspire some bold ideas together.

Could this be a blueprint for aging malls everywhere? What happens when an old shopping mall meets bold urban vision? In #Montreal’s east end, the iconic Place Versailles—once a cornerstone retail destination—is set for a $2.2 billion transformation. Over the next 25 years, the plan will replace the old mall with more than 5,000 housing units, including social housing, alongside new commercial spaces, a hotel, a school, and expansive parks. Sustainability is at the heart of the project, with green rooftops, ecological corridors, and rainwater management. This isn’t just about revitalizing a shopping center—it’s about reimagining urban landscapes for community, sustainability, and modern needs. Place Versailles could become a playbook for cities everywhere looking to repurpose aging retail spaces into vibrant, mixed-use #neighborhoods. https://lnkd.in/gYUjdvUx #UrbanDevelopment #SustainableCities #Montreal #RealEstate #MixedUse #AdaptiveReuse #Policy #CommunityPlanning #GreenInfrastructure #Cities #econdev

New series launch: Blueprints and Backstories We’re spotlighting how thoughtful design and architecture are transforming everyday spaces into places of connection, creativity, and care. Would you ever expect to find a bar or café inside a laundromat? In cities like Brooklyn and beyond, formerly utilitarian laundromats are being reimagined as vibrant third places—where daily errands meet coffee, live music, and community engagement. Here are three inspiring examples of this shift: 1. Laundry & Latte Brooklyn, NY A hybrid laundromat and café serving specialty coffee and bites in a bright, cozy space—perfect for remote work, casual hangs, or folding fresh laundry with a latte in hand. 2. Sunshine Laundromat & Pinball, Brooklyn, NY A retro pinball arcade and speakeasy bar hidden behind rows of washers—making room for recreation in the most unexpected setting. 3. Pearl Lee’s Washtub Brooklyn, NY Part bar, part performance venue, part laundromat—this hybrid space was designed by Theo DuPree to turn laundry day into a welcoming social experience rooted in culture and belonging. 4. Spin Laundry Lounge Portland, OR, An eco-conscious laundromat with two locations, featuring energy-efficient machines, free biodegradable soap, a full café/bar, retro arcade games via Ground Kontrol, lounge areas, and pop‑up events that blend laundry with hospitality and sustainability These examples go beyond aesthetics. They reflect a deeper shift in how we use space: ✔️ Multi-functionality ✔️ Flexible programming ✔️ Human-centered design ✔️ Local business support In dense urban environments, adaptive reuse isn’t just practical—it’s powerful. These laundromats are serving as social anchors in communities where traditional gathering spaces are limited. 🔍 What everyday spaces in your city could be reimagined in similar ways? We’d love to hear how architecture and placemaking are shaping the places you live and work. #BlueprintsAndBackstories #AdaptiveReuse #UrbanDesign #CommunityDevelopment #Placemaking #ThirdPlace #ArchitectureForPeople #DesignInnovation #Brooklyn #CivicDesign

Every city needs more places where people can gather, create, and belong. In a recent article by Andria Cheng for CoStar News, we get a closer look at Fabrik, a startup reimagining coworking by blending community, creativity, and connection. Their model is transforming underused office space into “third places”....not quite home, not quite work, but somewhere in between, while providing the much-needed human interaction that people need. Think yoga sessions, writer circles, artist meetups - programming that draws people out of isolation and into meaningful interaction. And they’re doing it with flexible, short-term leases and little-to-no buildout, making it profitable faster for both operator and landlord. Why it caught my eye: this approach could work in Hampton Roads. We have plenty of buildings with good bones sitting underused in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and beyond. Fabrik’s concept is about leasing space + reactivating it in a way that adds value to the building and the community. But to make something like this viable here, municipalities need to make it easier to rezone buildings that are currently locked into single-use office designations. The demand is shifting, and zoning needs to catch up. Cheng’s article is a solid read for anyone thinking creatively about office space and the future of work (link in the comments). Let’s keep asking the question: "What else could this office building become?" #adaptivereuse