Businesses speak up: Local owners share mixed feelings about University-driven changes

By Kyle Weidleman
Contributing Writer

The University is negotiating the purchase of the Borden Building on the 400 block of Market Street where it plans to open the University bookstore in 2010, a University official said.

The bookstore move is part of the Lewisburg Core Community Initiative (LCCI), a joint venture including the University, the borough of Lewisburg, Union County and community groups.

Some borough business owners are not happy with the proposal to move the bookstore.

Page After Page independent bookshop proprietor Murrie Zlotziver is worried about the effect the new University bookstore will have on independent shops.

“Why does Bucknell want to come into town and compete with local business?” Zlotziver said.

Moving the bookstore to Market Street will support local business by increasing downtown patronage, said Tom Evelyn, director of media relations.

The University has kept open the option that the new bookstore will be run by an independent company—such as Barnes & Noble—rather than by the University itself.

“My understanding is that Bucknell does not want to run this store,” Zlotziver said.  “I potentially can’t compete with volume and I can’t compete with prices if it’s a Barnes & Noble.”

“You know—big box stores—the money doesn’t stay locally,” he said.

Page After Page is two doors down from the proposed location of the new bookstore.

Wilson Ross, the last remaining business in the Borden Building, plans to move out by Feb. 7.

“Do we feel like we’re being forced out?” said Lisa Wilson, manager of Wilson Ross.  “Not forced out; but we feel like our options have been very limited.”

While the proprietors of Wilson Ross may feel they must deal with the brunt of the move, they said they are not upset by how the University has treated them.

“Dennis Swank [associate vice president for finance] has been very informative and very helpful,” Wilson said.
“[We are] not getting the ‘brush-off;’ we’re not bitter,” she said.

While some storeowners are nervous about the influence of a national chain on Market Street, others welcome a bigger company to Lewisburg.

“My research tells me that this is actually a golden opportunity,” said Linda Sterling, director of the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership.

“A huge majority of downtown must remain independent business,” Sterling said, but chain retailers can “help stabilize the economy downtown.”

Some local business owners agree.

“Statistics show, studies show that competition is good for business,” said Jenni Stieler, owner of Zelda’s on the Park coffee shop.

“There are so many studies all throughout the country of Starbucks coming into town […] and the mom and pop coffee shop in the middle of the street booms,” she said.

Retail centers “seldom survive without an anchor; that’s the role the bookstore would provide,” said Leslie Velz, co-owner of W.L. Donehower Shoe & Sport.

A bookstore is “probably one of the least selfish choices of anchor,” Velz said.

“It will bring additional people downtown because every parent and student will go there,” Sterling said.

Not everyone agrees the additional foot traffic is worth the expected costs.

“The only positive ever mentioned is increased foot traffic,” Zlotziver said.  “There is no guarantee that foot traffic will increase.”

A major University presence on Market Street could bring more than foot traffic.

A downtown bookstore could encourage the University to provide public transportation downtown from different places on campus, Velz said.  “I think the students would really enjoy [public transportation].”

“[Lewisburg’s] best chance for economic durability is partnership with Bucknell,” Sterling said.  She also mentioned the potential increase of jobs.

The University bookstore would keep late hours, Sterling said.

“One problem that the stores downtown have is the lack of uniform hours.  I believe that the shops downtown will follow suit [with the bookstore’s hours],” Stieler said.

The bookstore is not the only big change planned by the University as part of the LCCI.

There are plans for a parking structure at the intersection of Moore Avenue and Seventh Street, Stieler said.

The University is talking with the United States Federal government to buy the building currently serving as the Lewisburg post office and convert the upper floor into space for administrative offices for about 60 staff members, Sterling said.

The ground floor would remain the post office, University officials said.

“I’d love to see the two [Bucknell and Lewisburg] blossom together,” Velz said.  “I think there’s more opportunity for that when there’s more interchange [between the two].”