Expanding your community lots

We all want more lots, more community lot settings and multi functional malls. So far this is all more or less restricted, but nobody can stop you adding features to your standard community lot.

The old library at Gibbs Hill in Britechester got some new features!

I often add one or more extra features that has little or nothing to do with the lot category. Those tiny corners might not attract the NPCs, but the point is to create more arenas for my active household to enjoy.

In the above picture you can spot no less than 3 extra venues. The lot is still tagged as Library, but that won 't necessarily restrict your additions:

A mini grocery market
This is easy to add anywhere and on any kind of community lot. All you need is a couple stalls (or food stands if you don't have the Cottage Living EP) and a little décor to indicate a market. This square behind the Britechester library was rather tiny, so I had to limit the extras to a small ground display a few steps in front of the stalls. If more space I could have added a park bench and perhaps a small fountain. You will need to hire the vendors (§100), but there exists a mod that will auto-hire with no cost for your visiting sim.

A recycling station
I added tiny recycling stations to most of my worlds long ago. It's practical for locals who want to recycle, or who practice dumpster diving, or those having any other excuse for stopping by. Can be combined with a bus stop for example, but you could probably vary the content (and size) of the shed, to include other eco services. Or you could combine it with a Janitor's shed and pretend a sim actually working there. You need the ECO Lifestyle EP for the eco features.

The café in front of the library might be a good spot for a student's next date...

An outdoor café
In the background you see lots of closed red parasols. That is an outdoor serving that I imagine is very popular with the students visiting the library. Britechester is packed with university students, after all. I used the café counter from Get Together EP, but you could just add some coffee/tea brewers and your active household could help themselves. Like with other vendors, also the café vendor must be hired (§100). I used deco sims for this picture, I might just leave them to give the impression of a busy café.

The café object (espresso machine) is not working in rain, and the awning I placed is not water proof, so in the future I might  build a better house for the machine and vendor.

Graveyard
Not pictured is a small graveyard located on the opposite end of the library building. There is plenty of lawn to turn into additional services, and well - a graveyard can still be a lawn, sort of. I have one graveyard for every world (district), and this one serves all hoods of Britechester.

All these examples could have been added to most any community lot category. All you need is a few ground tiles really, it's amazing how much you can squeeze in on a 3x3 plot :)