19 Things You Can Do With a Roofless Building or an Empty Lot
This article was originally published, in slightly different form, on the author’s LinkedIn. It is shared here with permission. All images were provided by the author.
This empty space is full of potential. (Photo by Becky McCray.)
You probably have a roofless building in your downtown. Maybe the building burned or maybe the roof just fell in. These things happen. Now you have an empty space that might have walls or might just be an open lot. What can you do with this kind of roofless building?
The standard answer for small-town governments has been to make a pocket park: They add a little green space, a bench or two, and that’s about it. Maybe they'll toss in a memorial or piece of art. Pocket parks are OK, but they aren’t the only possibility. There’s much more we can do.
Try cheap and temporary setups to see what people in your town will actually use. This is important because I’ve seen a lot of pocket parks in small towns, but I’ve very, very, very rarely seen a person actually using one, and I’ve never seen a group or a crowd enjoying a pocket park. Which is a shame, really.
What could you do instead? I've got 19 options for you, but before we get started, check for safety. Those formerly interior walls and floors may need to be weather sealed or shored up. Make sure you get that done first before you start inviting people in.
Those side walls need to be sealed before the neighboring buildings are damaged. But look at those stone arches in the back! (Photo by Becky McCray.)
Not-for-Profit Ideas
These are things cities, towns or organizations might do with lots they own without much expectation of a direct return on investment.
Start a Conversation
Start with your pocket park idea, but add lots of seating for lots of people in conversational groupings. One picnic table isn’t enough to draw a crowd and make it a lively place, so put lots of tables. Schedule a special day to have lunch there. Make it a community event. Like, every Friday, all of downtown has lunch together here. Hold your board meetings, chamber breakfasts or other regular events there. It’s good for you to get outdoors.
Make It a Community Garden or Flower Garden
Jerry Johnson, from JLJ Design Studio in Richardson, Texas, suggested these green ideas. They're much more lively and get more people involved than a plain pocket park. Watch out; Jerry has a lot more ideas coming up throughout this article.
Add a Public Restroom
Cara Carson shared a photo of this gorgeous pocket park with public restrooms in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Trust me, visitors will appreciate an inviting public restroom.
Make an Event Space
Set up a little stage. Start recruiting anyone who gives lessons (music, dance, drama, writing) to hold student performances there. Just installing the stage doesn’t mean anything if no one uses it. The one in the photo below is in my hometown of Alva, Oklahoma, next to the library. There is a tiny stage in the far corner, big enough for one or maybe two performers.
I LOVE the little stage. Notice the remaining wall has been weather sealed. (Photo by Becky McCray.)
Set Up Games and Fun Things To Do Together
Add chess- or checkerboards, maybe, or domino tables, or poker tables. You could also add play equipment like parks have or interactive art-style things. You could even add human foosball. Jerry Johnson suggested lots of fun activities like bocce ball, croquet, shuffleboard or horseshoes.
Make It a Beach Instead of a Park
All you need is sand and beach chairs, maybe an umbrella. Detroit did this, and your town could, too. Set it up for volleyball games or sand-castle building, Jerry Johnson suggested.
Set Up an Outdoor Living Room
Make the space comfy and homelike. (Hey, I’ve seen plenty of outdoor furniture that looks comfy and homelike.) Hold conversations there. CFRA did an outdoor living room in their town of 851 and convened a series of conversations with local people. It was a temporary art/community project, but makes perfect sense to try for a longer time in a roofless building.
Create an Outdoor Museum
Jerry Johnson came up with the idea of a rusted tractor graveyard, but you could make almost any kind of outdoor museum display. What weather-resistant or happily rusty artifacts would tell the story of your town? Get brave and invite graffiti art on the walls. You can always paint over it.
Rusty tractor museum. (Photo (CC) by John Shebalso.)
Create a Walk-In Theater
I hear about many towns showing movies outdoors on the sides of buildings or on inflatable screens, so why not in a roofless building?
Recycle on It
Do you have a local recycling center? Jerry Johnson said that was another use to think of.
Let Other People Decide
Let community groups or school kids take over the empty space for a month, and give them a free hand. I’m betting some great ideas will emerge. Maybe the kids want to do a petting zoo or an aviary, Jerry Johnson suggested.
Not-Just-for-Profit Ideas
These are things individuals could do and even make a little money on. And yes, cities, towns and organizations could do these, too. I’m sure they could use some revenue.
Rent the Space for Special Events
Try tastings and sampling events, demonstrations, lessons or an outdoor yoga studio. You might have the most demand during the big festivals or events that already draw people downtown. That photo of the roofless building at the very top of this story is from my town. I think it would make a perfect overflow space for booths, food vendors or performances during our big arts festival instead of sitting empty all year round.
Tjhis deluxe brick-paved lot was perfect for an outdoor photography workshop. (Photo by Becky McCray.)
Create an Outdoor Eating Space
Rent the space to a nearby eatery for outdoor seating during the nice-weather season.
Add Food Truck Dining
Add tables, chairs and a place for food trucks to park.
Allow Street Vendors and Artisans
Brian Mininger said, “Charlottesville, Virginia, has a downtown pedestrian mall where the street used to be. They allow all different types of vendors. It makes for a great environment and a fun place to be. The same could be done with a roof less building.”
Set Up a Farmers Market
Brian Mininger also suggested creating a farmers market. I really like how this would bring your farmers market right downtown.
Make a Greenhouse
Al Jones came up with the greenhouse concept. Al said, “Cover the roof area with transparent plastic sheeting, add a fan for heat buildup, restore water and electrical service to the building, and use it as a greenhouse for high-value cooking herbs and spices for local restaurants, tended by the kitchen staffs. Many chefs maintain their own; it makes so much of a difference.”
Pop Up a Village of Shops
Use inexpensive garden sheds to create a bunch of tiny business spaces. Tionesta, Pennsylvania, did this with an empty lot. Now they have a bunch of businesses there, and it’s a kind of business incubator. It would work in a roofless building just as well as an empty lot.
Example: A Tiny Coffee Shop Sprouts Inside a Roofless Building
Marci Penner, from the Kansas Sampler Foundation, knew just where to find a roofless building being put to good use: Saint Francis, Kansas, population 1,300. The city's Union Square is now home to a coffee shop and outdoor events. Notice how they put a tiny building inside the footprint of the bigger building. You know that must've cost a lot less than reconstructing the whole thing, and it gives a usable indoor space for the coffee shop kitchen. After a few years, they saved up enough to add a metal roof over the space.
Becky McCray is a lifelong rural entrepreneur, cattle rancher and co-founder of SaveYour.Town. Her experiences as a retail business owner, city administrator, nonprofit executive and community volunteer make her a sought-after expert on rural communities.
Becky has presented at more than 300 rural and small-town events in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia, including Main Street America, International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and TEDx. She makes her home in Hopeton, Oklahoma, a community of 30 people. Her goal is to deliver practical steps you can put into action right away to shape the future of your town.
