Wilkes University and King's College are considering the possibility of returning their bookstores to the respective campuses in 2021, "a move that would likely end joint operation at the Barnes & Noble College store on South Main Street" in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the Times Leader reported.
The colleges have had their bookstores in the location since 2006 and the leases expire in 2021, according to the building's owner, George Albert, who said that although the schools have expressed interest in moving, he has not had any discussions with B&N College yet.
Gabrielle D'Amico, executive director of communications & graduate marketing at Wilkes University, said that with the B&N lease expiring, "we are exploring all options that might be suitable for a possible relocation, including spaces on our campus, but we have no firm plans at this time."
John McAndrew, King's College director of public relations, said the school "will consider all options for its future bookstore needs when and as appropriate."
Larry Newman, executive director at Diamond City Partnership, which promotes development downtown, said he could not confirm the report that Wilkes and King's will not renew their bookstore leases, but described the schools as key leaders in the larger downtown revitalization strategy: "In fact, it was their desire to get students downtown and generate new activity on the first block of South Main Street that led them to collaborate on the joint bookstore in 2006, when Downtown Wilkes-Barre was a much less vibrant place. There's no question that, nationally, college bookstore business models have changed in the intervening 13 years, and those changes will surely be taken into account as the schools plan for the future."
He added that the downtown "has unquestionably changed for the better. And a lot of that is due to the impact of the colleges' continued downtown investments.... They certainly aren't going to do things that blunt downtown Wilkes-Barre's positive momentum because it's in everyone's best interest to keep the downtown moving forward."