U., Book Center sign new lease

After months of talks, the popular Book Center will move to 3401 Walnut St. After more twists and turns than the Pacific Coast Highway, the story of the Pennsylvania Book Center's impending relocation to another campus site finally seems headed for a happy ending. The popular bookstore, one of two independents near the Penn campus, signed a lease for a new location in the 3401 Walnut Street complex late last week after months of negotiations that sometimes seemed as though it would never come to a successful conclusion. Both Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official, and Book Center owner Achilles Nickles confirmed yesterday that they signed a lease for the former location of Sam Goody at 34th and Sansom streets. "It's been a long, hot summer, and I'm delighted that everything worked out fine," Nickles said. The 35-year campus mainstay's future seemed doubtful after the University's announcement that it would demolish the store's long-term location at 38th and Walnut streets to make way for a new Wharton School building. The Book Center will vacate its present location on October 31. The new store, about the same size as the old one, will open in late November, according to Nickles. Religious Studies Professor Stephen Dunning, one of many professors who patronize the Book Center, said he is pleased the store will be staying on campus. "It's important to see an independent bookstore survive," Dunning said. Nickles said earlier in the month that he believes the University would not have made an offer had professors not pressured administrators to preserve one of the only two independent bookstores near campus. The other store is House of Our Own Books on the 3900 block of Spruce Street. The new lease requires the Book Center to have longer evening and weekend hours, a clause that has become a standard for campus retailers as Penn works to increase evening foot traffic in the University City area. The Book Center rejected Penn's initial offer for a location in the strip mall on the 3900 block of Walnut Street because Nickles felt the rent posed insurmountable financial obstacles for his store. The University's offer of the space in the 3401 Walnut Street complex came after months of negotiations this year. Another former plaza tenant, University Jewelers, signed a deal for a location in the complex earlier this year.

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