A vacant big box grocery store in Oshkosh has a new lease on life. UW-Oshkosh is re-using the store as a home for campus maintenance services. And it’s making room on the school’s main campus for an energy efficient classroom building.
Big box stores get criticized for draining shoppers away from mom and pop shops downtown. When they go out of business or move to a new, even bigger box they create vacant eyesores that can attract vandals or squatters. But sometimes they do get re-used. An old Best Buy in Green Bay is now a Goodwill and coffee shop. A former IGA in Oshkosh is a St. Vincent De Paul. Now, another old grocery store, a CUB Foods across town has been transformed into a Campus Services center for UW- Oshkosh. (Third item.)