(COLORADO SPRINGS) — If you frequent the east side of Colorado Springs, you may be noticing a growing number of empty storefronts after numerous large retailers announced their closures. That got us wondering, with such enormous and unique spaces, what happens to these buildings after their inhabitants move out?
While a business closing up shop is not an unusual occurrence, the east side has seen a noticeable number of large retailers announce closures recently–Party City, Big Lots, and soon-to-be-closed JOANN Fabric and Crafts. Typically, another business moves in where an old one once lived, but with the size of these spaces, the number of options for filling them dwindles.
FOX21 News reached out to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD) to find out what the process is like when a space like this becomes available, and what it takes for new businesses to make their homes in an existing building…