Closed Churches and Schools Are Becoming Retail and Mixed-Use Opportunities

The Short Version

• Church and school closures nationwide are creating redevelopment opportunities for retail, dining, entertainment and mixed-use projects.
• Adaptive reuse of these buildings can offer strong placemaking potential but often requires navigating zoning changes, code upgrades and high retrofit costs.
• Developers are transforming century-old churches into restaurants, event venues and office space while preserving architectural character.
• As enrollment declines, vacant schools are being converted into marketplaces, mixed-use districts and retail-anchored developments.

Shuttered Schools and Churches Create Retail Redevelopment Opportunity

As more U.S. churches and schools close their doors, investors and developers are discovering that these buildings — or the land they sit on — open the door to retail, mixed-use and other types of redevelopment.

A prime example: the old Taylor High School in Taylor, Texas, an Austin suburb. Local residents Kaitlin and Cliff Olle bought the former high school in 2016, MySA.com reported. Three years later, it debuted as a retail space — with lockers and glass-fronted display cases still lining the hallways, according to the Fort Hood Sentinel.

Built in 1923, the two-story orange brick building served as Taylor’s high school until 1969. From that point until 2021, it housed Taylor Middle School. Now, it’s a marketplace called Old Taylor High that’s home to tenants like The Artisan’s Mercantile, Class Act Salon, SmarTees and Taylor Seoul Food. Its website describes the businesses there as “a delightful mix of trendy boutiques, vintage shops, artisanal eateries and exciting entertainment options, all carefully curated under one roof.”

Why Closed Schools and Churches Appeal to Retail Developers

Vacant schools and vacant churches can make ideal spots for retailers, thanks to their wide-open spaces, historical charm and generous parking, according to Graphisoft solutions engineer Leeswann Bolden, whose employer develops building information modeling software. However, plenty of roadblocks can stand in the way of such projects, she cautioned. A big one: rezoning. “Navigating approvals can be one of the most complex aspects of a project because schools and places of worship aren’t typically zoned for retail,” said Bolden, who is also a trained architectural designer.

School- or church-to-retail conversions, though, can deliver spaces that delight shoppers and diners. “Start with a clear vision for the customer experience you want to deliver, rather than forcing a traditional retail format into an unconventional space,” Bolden advised. “Let the building’s charm inform the finished concept.”

A Wave of Closures Is Shaping Redevelopment Pipelines

Across the U.S., hundreds of schools are closing due to declining enrollment, presenting myriad redevelopment opportunities. From 2019 to 2023, enrollment in K-12 public schools fell 2.5%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. During that period, 2,263 K-12 public schools closed, the center reported. It predicts enrollment will have decreased by another 5.5% from 2023 to 2031, almost certainly leading to more closures. Bloomberg reported in 2023 that “the dilemma of how to repurpose empty schools is [one] that many cities face.”

Closures are also hitting houses of worship, which are witnessing a steep drop in regular attendance, according to Gallup data. In an article published in January by The Baptist Courier, Thom Rainer, founder of the Church Answers online community for church leaders, predicted about 15,000 U.S. churches would close within the following year.

And in a February column published on The Counselors of Real Estate website, house-of-worship reuse and redevelopment consultant Rick Reinhard wrote that 100,000 U.S. churches might close within the next decade. He cited an estimate from a former vice president of research and planning at the National Council of Churches. Reinhard previously told Baptist News Global that an estimated 400,000 houses of worship operate in the U.S. “What emptying department stores were to the late 20th century, emptying houses of worship are to our era except, thanks to the intricacies involved, the problems are greater and the opportunities more limited,” Reinhard said.

Still, redevelopment opportunities exist for closed churches and closed schools.

A Fort Lauderdale Case Study in Church-to-Retail Reuse

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, new life has been breathed into a historic church. Dedicated in 1922 as St. Anthony’s, a Catholic church, the building later housed the congregation of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The church sat empty after the congregation sold it to developer Taho Investments in 2016. Taho later repurposed the building as a nightclub and restaurant. Today, the former church — owned by URBN Flagler, which is affiliated with Taho — contains a steakhouse and several office tenants.

Fort Lauderdale’s Native Realty has consulted for about five years on adaptive reuse of the former church, a Romanesque-style structure whose original stained glass windows were preserved. Native Realty also handles leasing for the property.

Native Realty founder and CEO Jaime Sturgis said the high ceilings, ample parking and acoustics at many vacant churches make them “prime pieces of real estate,” particularly for food-and-beverage tenants. Indeed, Sturgis’ firm earlier this year brokered a 9,524-square-foot lease at the former church for a high-end restaurant concept called Jay’s steakhouse.

Sturgis said shuttered churches like this one, located in Fort Lauderdale’s fashionable Flagler Village neighborhood, can be “great opportunities” for developers. However, he noted these buildings often require retrofits and other updates to accommodate adaptive reuse.

A Jacksonville Church Becomes a Mixed-Use Gathering Place

Joshua Pardue — managing member and founder of Tampa, Florida-based JPRE Development, whose specialties include adaptive reuse of churches and other structures — is transforming the 104-year-old former First Church of Christ, Scientist in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, into a mixed-use project called Karpeles Grand, featuring an event space and social club. Pardue is in talks with a high-end restaurant that would lease about 6,000 square feet there.

He bought the roughly 13,000-square-foot property, which had fallen into disrepair, in 2023 when the previous occupant, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, shut down after operating for 31 years, The Florida Times-Union reported. “Our goal is to preserve its soul while making it relevant for the next century,” said Pardue.

Closed churches make good candidates for adaptive reuse because they offer character that “can’t be built from scratch,” such as craftsmanship and stained glass windows, he said, noting these buildings often lend themselves to experiential concepts like restaurants, gyms, boutique retail shops and entertainment venues. “The bones of these buildings are special. They were designed to bring people together, and that’s exactly what retail does when it’s done right.”

But if you’re going to do it right, you’ll run into adaptive reuse hurdles like compliance with building codes and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pardue warned.

On top of that, conversion of a church into high-end retail or restaurant space easily could cost $1,000 per square foot, he said. By comparison, the cost of an in-line fit-out for a store averages $155 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s U.S. retail Fit Out Cost Guide 2025.

Why School Conversions Are Gaining Traction — and Where Retail Fits In

While conversions of schools into apartments are on the rise, according to an analysis published by RentCafe, former schools also are being repurposed for retail and related uses. “Retail conversions remain niche, often due to the large size and unique layouts of these properties, but the concept is gaining traction,” said Bolden.

In some cases, schools are razed or selectively demolished to make way for ground-up developments that offer a mix of uses. For example, in Pleasanton, Texas, about 35 miles south of San Antonio, Main Street is being renovated and the downtown campus of a former elementary school is being converted into a 22-acre mixed-use development, according to Stantec, which is providing design and engineering services. Stantec said the development will include retail, office and 200 apartments, along with an event space and live music venue that’ll occupy the school’s converted gymnasium.

“It is exciting to see how this project has evolved from its initial concept to what it is now,” Pleasanton city manager Johnny Huizar said in Stantec’s news release. “It has taken years of planning and searching for funding sources, but I believe this project will provide everything our community has been waiting for.”