In most American towns and cities you are destined to come across at least one Walmart store. But with thousands having closed up in recent years, many now sit empty and vacant across the U.S on more than 698 million square feet of land.
So what happens when such a store closes? Well something must be done with that 2.5 acres of space.
This conundrum is exactly what officials in McAllen, Texas pondered when their local superstore shut down. Instead of letting the 124,500 square foot store sit vacant, however, they did something amazing: they transformed it into the largest single-floor public library in America.
It gets even better…
Re-modelers stripped the old ceiling and walls and developed it to have a modern look and feel.
Now, the library boasts 16 public meeting spaces, 14 public study rooms, 64 computer labs, 10 children’s computer labs, and 2 genealogy computer labs.
That’s not all, though. There is also a cafe, a used book store, an auditorium, and self check-out stations.
What may be best, it also hosts an incredible Farmer’s Market!
Where everything you need can be found in abundance.
They even re-decorated the grounds, making both inside and outside look amazing.
Community members now have the opportunity to gather, learn, create, support each others’ visions, and build friendship in a sustainable and economical way. That is much more than any corporate superstore could ever offer.
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