Big Box

Big Box Exit Spells Trouble for Local Economy

In Dublin, CA, the failure of a slew of big box retailers has created retail deadzones, dragging down local businesses and economies.

13 May 2009 - 6:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Jeffrey Barg

New Jersey: It’s Like Ohio, But Even More So

Sun, 02/01/2009 - 08:02

The second semester in planning school at Penn is defined by a major project in which students are broken into groups, given a problem region, and tasked with, in the space of three months, coming up with a plan comparable to what professionals do in 12 to 18 months. Over those three months, the students get intimate with their designated locale, exploring every nook, cranny and underused land parcel.

Helloooooooooo, Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

There’s an old John Gorka song called “I’m From New Jersey.” It goes, “I’m from New Jersey/ It’s like Ohio/ But even more so/ Imagine that.” I’d bet good green cash he was driving down Route 70 when he wrote that.

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You Can't Teach A Big Box New Tricks

A Home Depot Expo in Charlotte, NC, is closing. Mary Newsom explains that the real problem with big boxes like this is that they don't make sense over time.

28 January 2009 - 12:00pm

The Naked City

Big Box Breakthrough in Charlotte

Lofts and ground floor retail envelop a new Lowe's store in Charlotte, forming a buffer between the large store and the surrounding Dilworth neighborhood.

9 November 2008 - 11:00am

The Charlotte Observer

Reusing Empty Big Boxes

Sometimes big box retailers get too big for the boxes they're in. So they move. What's left behind are huge empty buildings -- and opportunities for re-use.

24 October 2008 - 9:00am

NPR

Urban Supermarkets, Suburban Designs

Supermarkets are moving back to urban areas like Philadelphia. But their big box designs are decidedly un-urban, according to architecture critic Inga Saffron, who calls for more relevant urban designs.

1 October 2008 - 5:00am

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Big Boxes Heading Downtown

With growth controls making suburban properties less attractive and wealth becoming concentrated in older centres, Canada's big box retailers are looking downtown for new locations.

17 September 2008 - 10:00am

Globe and Mail

Something New Inside Failed Big Boxes

When big boxes go under, they leave big holes. Communities across America are coming up with some creative ways to reuse the huge spaces left behind when big box retailers move out.

27 August 2008 - 10:00am

USA Today

Watch WalMart Spread Across the American Landscape

Flowing Data used zip codes and other data to create an animated map showing the growth of WalMart from the first store in Arkansas in 1962 until today, when the map is covered with stores.

31 July 2008 - 12:00pm

Flowing Data

'Alarming' Increases In Shopping Center Vacancies

Empty retail space increased dramatically over the last six months, according to data compiled by commercial real estate brokers and investment advisors.

20 June 2008 - 9:00am

Home Town Advantage Bulletin

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Big Box on a Diet

Big box stores are following their customers into downtowns, and stores like Circuit City and Target are retooling for density.

1 June 2008 - 5:00am

Architectural Record

Best Buy Refuses to Conform to Design Standards

Waynesville, North Carolina Mayor Gavin Brown is forced to give up on pedestrian-friendly design to save potential jobs from Best Buy.

31 May 2008 - 11:00am

The Smoky Mountain News

Big Box Thinking When Siting Schools is Creating Sprawl

New schools are consistently built far from community centers, while historic school buildings near where people live are demolished, The Blue Ridge Press reports.

29 May 2008 - 11:00am

The Blue Ridge Press

Coping With Vacant Big Boxes

To deal with the problem of vacant big-box stores that have proliferated across the country, one Milwaukee suburb is levying a fee on developers to help pay for demolition. Other cities are exploring similar options.

19 May 2008 - 12:00pm

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New Orleans Small Business Rising from the Ruins

As proposals for big-box retail projects mount in New Orleans, many small business owners who are returning to the city worry about the coming competition. A documentary is currently being filmed about the recovering city's business atmosphere.

25 April 2008 - 12:00pm

New Orleans Times-Picayune