Despite the success of Wal-Mart, operating a successful retail business in the U.S. during the best of times is difficult. In that regard, recent years have not been kind to retailers, particularly “big box” retailers — i.e., those companies that lease large, warehouse-type buildings that anchor a strip shopping center containing any number of smaller retail businesses.
As a result, many of those strip centers have lost their anchor tenants, which often prompted smaller businesses to vacate the premises because of reduced customer traffic. Moreover, inducing a new retail anchor tenant to come into a center that has already lost its previous anchor is usually a dicey proposition, so owners of such centers often are left with the vexing problem of attempting to turnaround a relatively new retail property in a market that is devoid of potential tenants. What to do?
Well, as this Thaddeus Herrick/Wall Street Journal ($) article reports, Houston is at the forefront of an innovation that is helping owners of such properties solve their problem — big chuches buying or leasing such centers to house part of the growing space needs of the churches:

Several years ago, when leaders at the 5,000-strong Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston realized they needed more space to expand their congregation, they considered building a new church on the outskirts of this sprawling Texas city. Instead, they opted for a less conventional site: a strip mall on the Katy Freeway.
Last year, Tallowood began services in a renovated 32,000-square-foot building that was formerly a Circuit City store. In addition to a 300-seat auditorium, the location now boasts 30 offices, a conference room that doubles as a day-care center and a Christian bookstore. “Not everyone comes to church for the architecture,” says Larry Heslip, Tallowood’s minister of education and administration. “Some people just like to be in a space that’s usable.” [. . .]

To make room for members, many churches are moving into commercial and retail spaces such as strip malls, big box locations and corporate campuses. Though often less spectacular in design than conventional churches, these buildings tend to be cheaper than new construction.
Large churches also see such properties as more desirable because they might attract potential churchgoers who are shopping at a retailer next door or across the street. And plenty of suburban property is available thanks to a commercial and retail push to both the fringes and downtowns of large urban areas. [. . .]
Tallowood paid $7.5 million for the 12-year-old strip center in 2004, acquiring 80,000-square-feet of retail space and 390 parking spaces on about 6.2 acres across the street from a Ford dealer.
Mr. Heslip says new construction would have cost considerably more, and older members might not follow the congregation to a new church. Tallowood spent $500,000 on the renovation of the Circuit City store, a project that presented few construction challenges. The older church, located less than a mile away from the new structure, is undergoing a $26 million expansion.
Tallowood’s leaders believe the new campus will attract new followers. For younger members, the church plans to turn what was once the storage bay — with 24-foot ceilings — into basketball courts.
At the rear of the building, a modified coffee bar is in the works where Mr. Heslip says folks will be able to come in off the freeway and watch sports network ESPN. And all the church services feature an electronic band, not a choir.
“It’s the opposite of the old campus,” he says. “And intentionally so.”