Barnes & Noble Expands Borders to Central Park

Students and area residents will soon have the opportunity to browse for books or grab a cup of coffee at the recently announced Barnes & Noble, to open in November 2012.

According to the Free-Lance Star, business partners Mark Doherty and Jeremy McCommons purchased the property last year and finalized a 10-year lease on the building that spans 24,000 square-feet.

The store will open Nov. 1 after a $1.9 million re-modeling of the building’s interior and exterior.

According to the Free Lance-Star, which spoke with David Deason, vice president of real estate for Barnes & Noble, the bookstore will feature the Barnes & Noble e-reader, “The Nook,” a café and a large area for children.

“The store will employ the equivalent of 30 full-time employees,” said Beverly Cameron, Fredericksburg city manager, in a memo.

The new Barnes & Noble will generate $732,000 in tax-revenue for the city, with a maximum of $100,000 shared with the business over the next 10 years, according to the same memo.

“Barnes & Noble’s selection of a Central Park location is welcome news for the center,” said Cameron.

The Barnes & Noble will replace the Borders store that closed last August.

With the onset of online books and e-readers, many students doubt the success of another bookstore.

“Per better prices, online selections like Amazon will always beat out actual stores—it’s an uphill battle for them,” said freshman Ryan Quint.

Freshman Deanna Lambert agreed with the criticism.

“I doubt it will last—there have been three different big name bookstores trying to set up shop in Fredericksburg in the past couple years and all of them are going under very quickly,” said Lambert.

Other students, however, look forward to the new store.

“While online books are extremely convenient, I still love to go to a bookstore, too, just because I love the atmosphere,” said freshman Lauren Bortfeld.

Other Barnes & Noble locations near Fredericksburg include Manassas, Springfield and Short Pump, Va. The company has 705 other retail bookstores throughout the U.S.