In an example of how AI, architecture, and building development all symbiotically coincide, an 82,000 square-foot vacant retail space in Clearwater, Florida, was once a key anchor in a thriving commercial hub. Its closure left a void that rippled through the entire shopping center.

For nearby tenants, traffic slowed.

For leasing agents, prospects dimmed.

For the building owners, each passing month of vacancy represented not just lost rent but lost vibrancy.

For developers, the project was a daunting task filled with costly policy hurdles.

Where traditional redevelopment might take months of guesswork, this project turned to a new commercial design partner: AI architecture modeling.

Project Metrics and Highlights

Location: Clearwater, FL
Size: 82,000 sq ft (23,000 sq ft retail | 59,000 sq ft adaptive reuse)
Development Type: Retail repositioning and adaptive reuse
Investment: $4 million
Financial Return: $770,000 in new NOI; 19.25% first-year yield
Added Value: +$12 million in asset valuation

From Vacancy to Vision: AI Taking on Commercial Architecture

Large-format retail spaces, often called “big boxes,” are both a challenge and an opportunity in modern commercial architecture design. They’re vast, visible, and expensive to leave idle. But they also offer flexible shells ripe for reinvention.

In this Florida project, a New York-based real estate investment trust called in cove’s architecture team. cove used our proprietary AI architecture platform, Vitras.ai, and adaptive reuse architecture principles to explore dozens of scenarios in a matter of weeks.

cove's proprietary AI, Vitras.ai, evaluated options using real-time data, from market rents and demographic trends to spatial constraints like ceiling height and loading access. What once required months of feasibility studies and manual comparisons became a rapid, iterative design process.

Vitras.ai didn’t just simulate design, it simulated outcomes.

Would a new gym increase foot traffic? Could a niche recreation concept sustain revenue? Would self-storage stabilize income while the front half hosted retail? Every possibility was modeled, priced, and stress-tested before anyone lifted a hammer.

The Market Context: Clearwater’s Commercial Architecture Design Revival

Clearwater’s commercial architecture, specifically for retail space, is fiercely competitive, defined by its proximity to Tampa Bay’s booming economy. Retail vacancy rates hovered near decade lows, and foot traffic along U.S. Highway 19 (the city’s main commercial corridor) was among the highest in the region.

Within three miles of the site, over 100,000 residents with an average household income of $98,000 ($64,000 for all of Clearwater) drove steady consumer demand.

Yet even in such a robust market, a single 82,000-square-foot vacancy posed a unique problem. Few tenants could take a space that size, and fewer still would want to without costly retrofits. The solution? Adaptive reuse architecture that broke the structure into two complementary zones: a vibrant front-of-house retail space and a flexible, revenue-generating back-of-house component.

Part One: Reimagining the Commercial Architecture Storefront Design

The first step was to convert the front 23,000 square feet into a junior anchor retail space, a size ideal for national tenants seeking strong visibility without the burden of a full-scale department store footprint.

The redevelopment plan prioritized flexibility: a clean, open floor plate, 16-to-20-foot ceiling heights, 115 linear feet of storefront, and efficient back-of-house loading. AI-based demographic and leasing analyses pointed to a sweet spot for off-price and home goods retailers, brands that thrive on high traffic and appeal to diverse income brackets.

By leveraging market comparisons, the AI architecture modeling projected achievable lease rates around $14 per square foot and anticipated rapid lease-up given Clearwater’s tight vacancy conditions. Construction budgets and tenant improvement allowances were optimized automatically to balance attractiveness to national tenants with investor return targets.

This reimagined retail front was designed not just as a store but as a new commercial architecture typology: modular, market-responsive, and easily convertible for future tenants.

Part Two: AI in Commercial Architecture to Utilize the Full Retail Space

Behind the bustling retail façade lay the second challenge: what to do with 59,000 square feet of deep, windowless interior space, a solid concrete expanse hidden from the main road and rarely touched by natural light.

In traditional retail terms, it was a dead zone. But with the help of AI-generated feasibility modeling, the team saw an opportunity where others might have seen a limitation.

Within days, cove’s AI and architecture team evaluated dozens of reuse scenarios, cross-referencing spatial data, regional demographics, construction costs, and lease rate benchmarks, to identify three viable directions for redevelopment:

Climate-Controlled Self-Storage

• 90%+ occupancy rates in Clearwater’s storage market.

• Minimal operational costs and long-term tenant stability.

• Conversion cost: ~$49/sq ft (among the lowest in commercial real estate).

• Result: A low-risk, high-yield asset delivering consistent NOI.

 Large-Format Fitness Center

• Ideal for operators such as Crunch Fitness or Esporta.

• Drives hundreds of daily visits, mostly during off-peak retail hours.

• Synergizes with nearby food and service tenants, enhancing overall center activity.

• Slightly higher build-out cost than storage but strong potential for pre-leased occupancy and recurring traffic.

Indoor Recreation Concept (Padel or Pickleball)

• Emerging sports trend in Florida with growing community interest.

• Strong potential for experience-driven engagement and local buzz.

• Higher construction complexity and market volatility led AI to flag this option as high-reward but higher-risk.

Each concept had merit, and AI simulations allowed the team to stress-test them in parallel: evaluating financial performance, zoning feasibility, and long-term adaptability. Together, these insights represented a new way to think about commercial reuse, proof that with the right data and AI-driven insight, even the most overlooked spaces can be transformed into engines of growth for the next generation of mixed-use development.

Financial Performance: Turning Commercial Architecture Design into Value

Total Investment: $4 million

Stabilized NOI: ~$770,000 annually

Yield on Cost: 19.25% (first year)

Asset Value Increase: +$12 million

From a $4 million redevelopment investment, the project generated nearly $770,000 in new annual net operating income (NOI) – a 19.25% first-year yield. That performance added approximately $12 million in asset value, transforming a dormant liability into a resilient income generator.

For the property owner, the project’s appeal wasn’t just in its immediate ROI but in its long-term adaptability. The subdivided structure could flex with changing market needs—retail today, recreation or office tomorrow—without major reconstruction.

Commercial Design Details: Adaptive Reuse Architecture at Work

Beyond financial modeling, the architectural process centered on adaptive reuse architecture and retrofitting. Rather than demolishing the structure, the commercial architecture design preserved its existing steel frame, foundation, and roof, layering in new life through smart subdivision and selective upgrades.

• New Demising Walls: A full-height, fire-rated partition separated the front and rear zones, balancing code requirements with acoustic control.

• Storefront Transformation: The front façade gained a new glass-and-aluminum system, reintroducing transparency and pedestrian appeal.

• Mechanical Systems: The former single HVAC network was divided and resized—robust air conditioning for the retail side, efficient climate control for the storage facility.

• Lighting and Electrical: LED upgrades reduced energy use, while separate metering systems ensured clean operational independence for future tenants.

• Sustainability: Retaining the existing shell avoided the carbon footprint of a teardown, aligning the project with best practices in adaptive reuse architecture and sustainable commercial design redevelopment.

Construction costs were carefully modeled and tracked, with each building division, from glazing to fire suppression, optimized through AI cost prediction. The total came in under industry averages for comparable redevelopments, largely due to efficient adaptive reuse architecture and sequencing strategies identified early by the AI architecture modeling platform.

AI in Architecture: Benefits for Building Developers

For building developers, the power of AI in architecture offers many benefits due to its ability to connect design potential with financial reality. Through cove’s AI architecture approach, every design move, from reuse strategy to budget allocation, becomes a data-backed decision.

Faster Feasibility

Vitras.ai condensed months of analysis into days, testing multiple adaptive reuse architecture paths with live financial and spatial data.

Smarter Capital Deployment

Predictive AI architecture modeling identified the most profitable tenant mix and guided budget allocation toward ROI-maximizing commercial architecture design decisions.

Reduced Risk and Downtime

Pre-leasing potential and flexible layout scenarios minimized vacancy and extended asset lifespan.

Design Flexibility

By future-proofing mechanical, structural, and access systems, cove ensured the building can pivot between storage, fitness, or recreation in response to market shifts.

Beyond Commercial Architecture Design: An AI Model for Modern Redevelopment

The success of this big-box store redevelopment highlights a growing movement in retail architecture: the fusion of design intelligence and data intelligence. Where once feasibility studies relied on intuition and slow market research, today’s architects can test every assumption through AI simulation.

By combining spatial data, regional demographics, and construction economics, developers gain a panoramic view of what’s possible before any commitments are made. It’s the difference between guessing at feasibility and knowing it.

And while this Florida case focused on retail adaptive reuse architecture, the implications stretch far wider. Across the U.S., commercial developers are reimagining underperforming assets (old department stores, vacant malls, aging strip centers) into thriving mixed-use developments that blend commerce, recreation, and community uses.

AI-powered architecture enables those transformations at record speed and with precision. It balances market demand with design flexibility, ensuring that every reinvestment contributes to short-term leasing and long-term resilience.

Breathing New Life into Commercial Architecture Design

At its heart, this case wasn’t just about reclaiming a retail box. It was about rethinking what buildings can become.

The adaptive reuse architecture strategy turned an idle space into a dual-purpose hub that now serves two very different customer bases: shoppers seeking value and residents seeking convenience. It demonstrated how smart design and data-driven insight can turn obsolescence into opportunity.

This is the new frontier of commercial architecture design: buildings that evolve with market needs rather than becoming relics of yesterday’s trends.

How cove’s AI in Architecture Approach Helps Building Developers Do the Same

At cove, this philosophy drives everything we build. Our AI architecture modeling platform, Vitras.ai, enables building developers and architects to test design ideas in real time by evaluating cost, performance, and market fit across dozens of adaptive reuse architecture or ground-up scenarios.

Whether reimagining an aging shopping center or designing the next generation of mixed-use development, cove helps teams breathe new life into old designs while ensuring that new projects meet energy, carbon, and code standards from day one.

Building developers no longer need to gamble on designs that are “too niche” or out of step with future market shifts. With cove’s AI architecture approach, every square foot is tested for its potential – economically, environmentally, and spatially – so you can build smarter, faster, and with greater confidence.

AI in architecture isn’t about replacing creativity. It’s about amplifying and transforming data into design and vision into value.