The mall space that temporarily housed Joplin High School is being converted back to a bigbox retail site

Temporary high school in Joplin, Mo., will revert to retail space (with Video)

July 15, 2015

The big-box retail space in a vacant mall was converted to a high school after a deadly tornado destroyed Joplin High in 2011.

Mike Kennedy

A shopping mall in Joplin, Mo., that served as a temporary home for the city's high school after a devastating tornado in 2011 is being converted back to retail space for a big-box store.

KOAM-TV reports that crews are dismantling much of space at the Northpark Mall so that it can again be used as retail space. When the tornado struck in May 2011, the site was vacant, but it previously had housed a Shopko store.

A new Joplin High School was built and opened in 2014.

The realtor for the mall says it has sold the former Shopko space, but did not disclose the buyer.

Demolishing the interim school space will cost the Joplin district about $380,000, but the expenditure is eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State Emergency Management Agency.

Video from KOAM-TV: