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PLU Bookstore moves to lower campus
March 23, 2007
Last week, the PLU Bookstore became the most recent University Center tenant to move to a new home as the building is prepared for a major renovation.
The bookstore has temporarily moved to the golf course’s pro shop in the Columbia Center and will share the space until construction of the new store on Garfield Street is complete. Mark Mulder, director of auxiliary services, estimated the new store will be finished in late May or early June. The bookstore’s administrative office moved to East Campus.
The temporary space is significantly smaller, and shoppers will notice fewer items for sale. Items that are available in the temporary, lower-campus location were selected by looking at what was sold during the same time period last year, and include graduation gifts, PLU clothing and souvenirs, and academic and office supplies, Mulder said.
Some academic books are being stocked at the temporary location, particularly those for the classes in the second half of the semester. If a student needs a book or item that isn’t in stock, it can be special-ordered, Mulder said.
“If it’s not in inventory, it’s not out of the question to ask and see what the bookstore might be able to do to help,” he said.
Throughout last week, bookstore staff packed up items remaining in the UC location. The inventory will be stored off campus until it is time to move into the Garfield Street location, said Angie Zurcher, the bookstore’s director of community connections.
Zurcher said she is getting excited to move to the new store, which will be the anchor tenant in Garfield Commons. The 32,000-square-foot retail complex will be located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Garfield Street.
The new store will feature nearly 10,000 square feet of selling space, which is nearly double that of the UC store, she said. Additionally, the new store will be connected to a community room, roughly the size of the UC’s Regency Room. The room will be used for textbook overflow at the beginning of the semester and for community programming throughout the year.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” Zurcher said.
Garfield Commons is part of a plan to reinvigorate Garfield Street businesses with increased pedestrian traffic from campus to Garfield Commons and provide opportunities for further economic development of the area. Other tenants slated to occupy retail space include Firehouse Coffee, Farelli’s Gourmet Wood Fire Pizza, Desert Sun Tanning and a UPS Store.
The new bookstore will also include a “Fair Trade and World Goods” store, featuring global fair-trade merchandise, as well as the PLU Northwest and Scandinavian Gift Shop, which is now located in a separate store on Garfield Street. The gift shop will be closing its current Garfield Street location when the new space is ready.
The fair trade store will be used to connect Parkland consumers with the study away experiences of PLU students and faculty, Mulder said. Students and faculty are encouraged to recommend fair trade products they see while studying abroad.
Unlike most college bookstores, the new bookstore will serve both the campus community and the greater Parkland community by carrying products for both audiences, Mulder said. This includes a large general book area, a children’s learning area and a resource center for home-schooled students.
Mulder said the new store is looking for suggestions of categories, book titles and programming topics from the campus community. Faculty and staff can offer their suggestions by clicking here, and students can do the same by clicking here.
Garfield Commons is a joint project between PLU and Lorig Associates. Lorig Associates has also worked with the university on South Hall, Xavier Hall and the newly opened Morken Center for Learning and Technology.
Construction has already begun on the UC’s lower level, and the building’s doors officially close on March 30. To see where other UC offices have relocated to, visit www.plu.edu/~newbuild/university-center/home.html.
The temporary space is significantly smaller, and shoppers will notice fewer items for sale. Items that are available in the temporary, lower-campus location were selected by looking at what was sold during the same time period last year, and include graduation gifts, PLU clothing and souvenirs, and academic and office supplies, Mulder said.
Some academic books are being stocked at the temporary location, particularly those for the classes in the second half of the semester. If a student needs a book or item that isn’t in stock, it can be special-ordered, Mulder said.
“If it’s not in inventory, it’s not out of the question to ask and see what the bookstore might be able to do to help,” he said.
Throughout last week, bookstore staff packed up items remaining in the UC location. The inventory will be stored off campus until it is time to move into the Garfield Street location, said Angie Zurcher, the bookstore’s director of community connections.
Zurcher said she is getting excited to move to the new store, which will be the anchor tenant in Garfield Commons. The 32,000-square-foot retail complex will be located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Garfield Street.
The new store will feature nearly 10,000 square feet of selling space, which is nearly double that of the UC store, she said. Additionally, the new store will be connected to a community room, roughly the size of the UC’s Regency Room. The room will be used for textbook overflow at the beginning of the semester and for community programming throughout the year.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” Zurcher said.
Garfield Commons is part of a plan to reinvigorate Garfield Street businesses with increased pedestrian traffic from campus to Garfield Commons and provide opportunities for further economic development of the area. Other tenants slated to occupy retail space include Firehouse Coffee, Farelli’s Gourmet Wood Fire Pizza, Desert Sun Tanning and a UPS Store.
The new bookstore will also include a “Fair Trade and World Goods” store, featuring global fair-trade merchandise, as well as the PLU Northwest and Scandinavian Gift Shop, which is now located in a separate store on Garfield Street. The gift shop will be closing its current Garfield Street location when the new space is ready.
The fair trade store will be used to connect Parkland consumers with the study away experiences of PLU students and faculty, Mulder said. Students and faculty are encouraged to recommend fair trade products they see while studying abroad.
Unlike most college bookstores, the new bookstore will serve both the campus community and the greater Parkland community by carrying products for both audiences, Mulder said. This includes a large general book area, a children’s learning area and a resource center for home-schooled students.
Mulder said the new store is looking for suggestions of categories, book titles and programming topics from the campus community. Faculty and staff can offer their suggestions by clicking here, and students can do the same by clicking here.
Garfield Commons is a joint project between PLU and Lorig Associates. Lorig Associates has also worked with the university on South Hall, Xavier Hall and the newly opened Morken Center for Learning and Technology.
Construction has already begun on the UC’s lower level, and the building’s doors officially close on March 30. To see where other UC offices have relocated to, visit www.plu.edu/~newbuild/university-center/home.html.