Even with the cloudy skies, blustery winds, and rain, there was a crowd of dedicated Beavers, who came to watch the groundbreaking of the new Oregon State University Bookstore, along with board members and other distinguished persons.
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| President Ed Ray, Alison Vogt, and Steve Eckrich are keynote speakers at OSU bookstore groundbreak 6/5/12. |
The Oregon State Bookstore, now located at 2301 SW Jefferson Way, in the middle of campus, next to the library, has limited parking in the middle of campus. According to the Barometer, the school wants to have more pedestrian traffic on campus and wants the store in a more centrally located space, where it can still be available to students, but , also, accessible to visitors and fans.
A new classroom building will be located in the present bookstore parking lot and must be ready because Snell Hall is being demolished in 2014 and there needs to be a classroom building available for these students. Also, the lease for the present store is up in 2014 and the school wants to be in the new location to help accomplish all of this.
The Bookstore is moving to the corner of SW 26th St and SW Washington Way, across from Reser Stadium, 2 block off Hwy 34, taking advantage of the stadium traffic and the student needs.
Steve Eckrich, CEO of the OSU Bookstore, said the grand opening is not definite but hopefully will be ready to open by July 2013. Eckrich stated the Bookstore will be about 50,000 sq. ft. composed of two floors. The bottom floor will house the bookstore proper, divided into specific product areas and 22 retail checkout stands to ensure fast service, along with a coffee shop on the corner for students, fans, and visitors.
The second floor of the new bookstore will be used for administrative and bookstore personnel use.
There will be bicycle stations on all four sides of the building and specified motorcycle parking are already on all floors of the parking garage. Also, there will be 90 reserved parking spaces, dedicated to the bookstore clientele only for short-termed parking. The fees for parking will be comparable to preset fees and the OSU parking permits can definitely used in the garage.
When speaking to the audience of approximately 100, with board members of the store, executive staff of RH Construction, which is building the store and heads of departments from the campus, Steve Eckrich told the history of the coop enterprise which started with and investment of $70,000 and profited $3000 the first year and has grown to over $20 million a year and more revenue is anticipated with the new store.
President Edward J. Ray, who just happened to arrive at OSU on the same day 9 years ago, was the second speaker. The “ceremonial groundbreaking marks a new and exciting chapter” in the 98 year partnership between the Oregon State University and the Bookstore. There will be an expansion of the program which allows students to rent books. This store is going to more accessible and convenient for students, alumni, and visitors.
Finally, and to the surprise of most of the audience, the last speaker was Alison Vogt, a junior, Chapter President at Kappa Alpha Theta, an Honors International Business/Marketing student at Oregon State University, with a 3.96 GPA and 2nd year as a member of the board of directors for the Beaver Store. Vogt assured the audience that the new OSU Beaver store will have the same reliability for all things beaver and this new chapter is only going to make things better for students and the community. The OSU Beaver Store is “OUR” store, Alison added to a lot of applause from the audience.
Some members of the audience were Ann Malosh, Division Dean, Business, Healthcare, and Workforce at LBCC with her husband, John Malosh, Facility Coordinator for the Beaver Bookstore, Justin Fleming, student, Board President of the OSU Beaver Store, Sarah McGregor, another student on the Board of Directors for the Beaver Store, Erica Lerch, Academic Material Supervisor, and Melanie Sanders, Marketing Coordinator for the Beaver Store.
At A Glance:
Groundbreaking-ceremony, June 5 from 1 to 2 p. m.
New OSU Beaver Store will be on the corner of SW 26th St and SW Washington Way, across from Reser Stadium, 2 blocks off Hwy 34
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| Plans show the front of the new Beaver Store at OSU at OSU bookstore groundbreak 6/5/12. |
50,000 square feet with a coffee shop and lots of parking and a larger bookstore
Keynote speakers, Steve Eckrich, CEO of the OSU Bookstore, President Edward J. Ray, and Alison Vogt, a honors society junior and 2nd year as a member of the board of directors for the Beaver Store
