The Grand Valley State University Bookstore is set to move into the new Marketplace building, located adjacent to the new science complex, on April 13.

According to Jerrod Nickels, GVSU University Bookstore manager, the store has outgrown its current location. The bookstore was built in 1973, when the Kirkhof Center dealt with a smaller student population.

“We’ve done everything that we can in the past to use the space as efficiently as possible, but it is simply no longer meeting the needs of our students,” Nickels said.

Being housed within the Kirkhof Center was helpful for the bookstore, but its placement deep inside the building made the store hard to find.

Nickels said the Kirkhof Center has already undergone two major additions, leaving no feasible way to add to the bookstore. However, he believes being attached to the new science building and directly across from Student Services is an ideal alternative.

“Hundreds of students each day will be going into the new science building, so we’ll be easily accessible for them,” Nickels said. “We’ll be near both the Rec Center and the Student Services building.”

The new Marketplace will total 42,000 square feet, nearly doubling the size of the current bookstore, Nickels said. This includes space for the sales floor, offices, storage and food areas.

The new bookstore will occupy three floors. The main floor will contain GVSU apparel and gifts, while a technology store housing school supplies and textbooks will occupy the second floor. The basement will have a copy center and a pick-up location for web orders.

Besides having a new location and increasing in size, the new building will provide additional benefits to the bookstore such as the enhanced technology section that will provide students with more opportunities to shop than the current bookstore. The bookstore will evaluate what new products will be added as customers request them.

While all of the changes are designed to benefit the students and customers, not all of those changes will be visible. The building’s expanded storage means the store can make shopping a little easier.

“We will also have our warehouse in the basement instead of having it located two miles off campus,” Nickels said. “If customers need a garment in a size that we don’t have on the sales floor, we will have ready access to it.”

This added space will also allow the University Bookstore to have textbooks from both the Allendale and Pew campuses. Previously, textbooks required for classes in the Pew Campus could only be purchased in the downtown bookstore.

Nickels said no tuition dollars or general funds are used in planning, building, moving or operating the new store. He said the bookstore, as an auxiliary, has to act as viable business for the university.

“Both the cost of the new building and the move itself are not insignificant,” Nickels said. “The benefits to the campus community will be substantial.”