Big boxes · Minnesota

Kmart in Austin, MN

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedRetrofit builtAustin, MN

Retrofitted Kmart now a Hormel Foods office (SPAM Museum relocated 2016); retrofit complete, not available for new development. · summary, model-written

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Site profile4 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

Kmart

This site: Kmart wikipedia · all sites with this

Strategy

Reinhabited

This site: …corporate office building for Hormel Foods and initially housed a SPAM Museum record · all sites with this

New use

Entertainment and sports

This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Office

This site: …corporate office building for Hormel Foods and initially housed a SPAM Museu newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit builtWikipedia no source
Strategy	ReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New uses	entertainment, officeWikipedia no source
What is there now	corporate office building for Hormel Foods and initially housed a SPAM Museumnewtypes-extraction reported

Site context

Housing permits, Mower County (MN), 2024	0 units in 5+ unit buildings, 0 in 2–4, 55 single-family; 2023: 0 in 5+Census BPS
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	1,664 jobs in 108 establishments; average annual pay $31,518; employment location quotient 0.99; employment -4.4% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	5,510 jobs; 156 in retail trade, 260 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 27099000410)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 40th income percentile as adults; 2.0% incarcerated at the 2010 count (710 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 9% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 30.6%; median family income $35,977; 469 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Austin Public School District (PK-12); 7 public schools within 1 mile: AUSTIN SENIOR HIGH; SUMNER ELEMENTARY; AUSTIN AREA LEARNING CENTER; AUSTIN AREA LEARNING CNTR. - SUMMERNCES EDGE
Elevation	1,206 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	147 county-logged events: 61 thunderstorm wind, 34 hail, 24 flood, 10 flash flood; $2,864,000 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 55912, 2026-09	median list price $241,425 (-0.1% on the year); 104 active listings; median 45 days on market; 16% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	121 establishments (-8%); 1,701 jobs (-11%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $201,999 (+3% 1 yr, +27% 5 yr); typical rent $1,161/mo (+9% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	9,683 vehicles a day on 4th St NW (minor arterial, 2 lanes); 18 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Kmart in Austin, MN was retrofitted into a corporate office building (Hormel Foods) after the SPAM Museum relocated in 2016. The site now functions as an office space with initial entertainment use. The retrofit is complete (status: built), and the opportunity score is 0.0 because the transformation is already implemented. No current development activity is indicated. The site is in Mower County, MN, on a minor arterial road (4th St NW) with 9,683 ADT. Housing market data (ZHVI $201,999, ZORI $1,161) and peer comparisons (e.g., Mankato Place Mall) are provided but not directly relevant to the site's current status. The SPAM Museum is no longer on-site.

Why. The retrofit is complete and operational, making it unavailable as a new opportunity. The record confirms the transformation occurred (2016 museum relocation) and the site is now a functioning office space.

Where it stands. Completed retrofit. Not available for new development.

For a planner

Site is fully repurposed; no active planning needed.

For a developer

Not a viable opportunity—retrofit already executed.

What we do not know yet

No current vacancy data or tenant details provided. Traffic volume (9,683 ADT) is noted but not assessed for relevance.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Mankato Place Mall, Mankato, MN · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN
Madison East Mall, Mankato, MN · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN
Loffler Companies, St. Louis Park, MN · Big boxes · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN
Warehouse District, Minneapolis, MN · Industrial sites · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN

Elsewhere on the web

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Multifamily screen

retrofit already built

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Anchors	Kmart
County	Mower County
Census division	4 · West North Central
Notes	Draft from jasonmiller15.substack.com, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former Kmart in Austin, MN, was redeveloped into a corporate office building for Hormel Foods, initially housing a SPAM Museum.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Timeline

2016 SPAM Museum relocated

Sources

From 3,000 to 2 Stores - What Happened To The Kmart Real Estate?
2 quoted sentences
the Kmart in Austin, MN
until the museum relocated in 2016

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Kmart in Austin, MN, Austin, MN." Record n-20d8fd8ced, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/big-box/mn/austin-kmart-in-austin-mn/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_austinkmartinaustinmn,
  title = {Kmart in Austin, MN, Austin, MN},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/big-box/mn/austin-kmart-in-austin-mn/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-20d8fd8ced, release 2026-10-20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

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