The University is considering a proposal to move the campus bookstore to a new development on Washington Street. The proposal was unveiled publicly in a university blog by Joyce Topshe, Associate Vice President for Facilities, and Nathan Peters, Associate Vice President for Finance.
The proposed location is on the “north side (across the street from Russell House) of Washington Street between High Street and Pearl Street”, according to Peters. One issue with this location is the danger for pedestrians crossing Washington Street, which is a heavily trafficked road that has had fatal accidents recently, according to a commenter on the relocation blog.
According to the post, the bookstore will be the anchor tenant for a complex that will “include national branded retail and restaurant tenants as well as local businesses.” Additionally, the bookstore vendor may change from Follett to another company. The administration sees the move as a possible way to cut overhead costs and improve relations with the Middletown community.
There will be an open forum on Tuesday, November 27, at 4:30 in 41 Wyllys, room 112 to discuss the relocation and the following questions:
1. The move has advantages; should we make it?
2. Do faculty wish to be consulted about the selection of a vendor? If yes,what factors should be considered in recommending a vendor?
3. If we do make the move, how might we make new use of the existing bookstore building?
The WSA will also be discussing the relocation at its general assembly this Sunday at 7:00pm in 41 Wyllys, room 114.
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Just saw on twitter that the WSA will be discussing this TONIGHT – Sunday, Nov 11 – at 7 pm at 41 Wyllys Room 114.
Someone should just read these comments (especially Ed’s) at the forum.
As a Wes neighbor, near the corner of Pearl and Washington, I can’t imagine a worse idea. It’s touted as connecting Wes with downtown, when the block mentioned is three blocks from Main Street – two blocks further than the current bookstore location. In addition, the demolition of at least one, but probably two, nineteenth century homes would be necessary to create the mini-mall, permanently altering the streetscape on the entryway to Middletown and Wesleyan. This is the kind of wrong-headed development that suits the developer, but not the community. And in this case it doesn’t serve Wesleyan well either. Plus, a Starbucks on High would surely hurt business at locally-run coffee shops like Klekolo, Javapalooza and Brewbakers. Finally, the traffic pattern on these blocks of Washington are often congested. The development would make that worse, and probably promote accidents.
Who has a say in the decision? Is there a vote?
attend the forum if you feel strongly about this issue!
A ‘complex’ and ‘national branded’ – this sounds like a terrible idea!
What about leaving Follett and running an actual Wesleyan bookstore, i.e. non-corporate bookstore? Surely peer schools have done such a thing, no? After all, knowing it’s Follett just makes me want to steal from them…
“National branded retail and restaurant tenants” does not sound good at all to me.