Kenyon Bookstore to Temporarily Relocate
After the Village Market moves to its new location on Chase Avenue in June, workers will prepare the vacated space at the north end of Farr Hall for the Kenyon Bookstore to occupy temporarily.
The move is part of a phased downtown-revitalization plan that has already improved access to Middle Path and will enhance student housing and add retail space on Gaskin Avenue. The bookstore’s temporary relocation will allow crews to renovate the south end of Farr Hall, where the bookstore will return this winter. The renovated bookstore will feature updated interiors, a new facade, second-floor offices, a sprinkler system, updated lighting and other features.
“The renovation provides us with a great opportunity to create a more open and welcoming space for the whole Gambier community. We will finally be able to move all of the ‘trade’ books into one central area with comfortable seating and study space. We are creating a bookstore within the bookstore,” said Angus MacDonell P’17, general manager of the bookstore.
The bookstore’s temporary space will be about 1,500 square feet smaller than its permanent home. Some stock will be put into storage, and there will be fewer chairs available for readers and students doing homework during the renovation, MacDonell said.
“I really like to hear the students and their discussions as they sit in the bookstore. It makes it a very lively place. We will miss that a lot, but with so much less [temporary] space, that’s where we will have to sacrifice for a few months,” he said.
What to expect during the bookstore’s temporary relocation and renovation:
Early June: Textbooks and other material stored in the bookstore’s current basement are moved so that crews can begin installing heating, cooling and other mechanical systems that will support the renovated bookstore.
Mid-June: The Village Market and Gambier Deli vacate their spaces. The Village Market moves to its new home on Chase Avenue. The Gambier Deli suspends operations until summer 2018, when it returns to a newly designed space on Gaskin Avenue.
Late June: Workers remove the wall between the former market and deli spaces and paint and clean the interiors. Textbooks will be sold from the deli space during the temporary relocation.
Mid-July: The bookstore moves to its temporary location at the north end of Farr Hall.
July-November: The bookstore resumes normal hours of operation and offers the same services, including:
• FedEx, UPS and USPS parcel deliveries. Recipients can pick up packages using the deli office entrance that faces Center Run and the two new apartment buildings behind Farr Hall.
• Newspapers, coffee and ice cream for sale.
• ATM. A freestanding ATM will be available in the bookstore’s temporary space and again in the permanent space. When construction of the new Gaskin Avenue retail space is completed, a bank ATM will stand between the bookstore and the new deli space.
Late November: The bookstore returns to its newly renovated, permanent space, and the laundry center reopens for public use. Crews demolish the northern two-thirds of Farr Hall to make way for three new Gaskin Avenue retail buildings, including the renovated Gambier Deli, that will comprise the final phase of the plan.