For the first time in 23 years, the ASU Bookstore is getting a facelift.
The ASU Bookstore began a remodel in November to update the store, built in 1982.
The remodel will be completed in February and the bookstore will remain open during the extent of the remodeling.
The original plan was to begin the remodel last fall, but getting the contracts and planning caused a delay, said Jim Selby, assistant director of the bookstore.
"We wanted to be ready for the first day of classes this semester and we're a little behind, but it's going well," he said.
The bookstore would not release the amount spent on the remodel.
The project was initiated to update the store and create a more open and well-lit lobby area.
Some of the improvements are large glass doors, an awning with misters and wider aisles inside. The carpet was removed, and the new floor will be polished concrete.
"Our carpet had been down since 1982," Selby said. "We haven't painted since 1982. The lobby roof was slanted down, very dark and was just not appealing at all. The thought process was to raise that roof up, put the glass front on, open it up and make it light."
The register configuration of the store was also an issue, Selby said.
"We were getting to the place where, with the register configuration in the front, we could not expand," he said.
The registers are now arranged in a "v" formation on either side of the lobby.
Other changes include the additions of a newsstand in the front of the store, a canopy-covered locker cabana, new signage and a Starbucks scheduled to open the week after spring break.
The bookstore has no plans to increase prices because of the remodel, said Selby.
While the store showed signs of construction, some students said it didn't disturb their shopping.
"The first time I was coming in, I was like 'Whoa, where did it go?' " said business freshman Crystal Curley, referring to the fenced area in front of the bookstore. Still, Curley said she was not inconvenienced by the remodel while shopping.
Psychology and sociology senior Brett Smith said he shopped at the bookstore the first week of the semester and did not think the construction was a hassle.
Selby said the bookstore remodel was not intended to compete with the bookstore at UA, which was remodeled in 2002 to add 38,000 square feet to the facility.
"Eventually the University will need a totally new bookstore that will be on a scale with the UA," Selby said. "Once we go into a major building project, it will be a nice facility that will compare with any bookstore anywhere."
Reach the reporter at katherine.ruark@asu.edu.
