Rutgers University Will Partner with Barnes & Noble to Open Collegiate Superstore in New Brunswick

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Officials of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the city of New Brunswick and representatives of the New Brunswick Development Corporation today announced that Barnes & Noble College Booksellers will open a three-story, 46,000-square-foot superstore in The Gateway redevelopment project.

This partnership will provide Rutgers and the city of New Brunswick a high quality, full-service retail bookstore adjacent to the New Jersey Transit train station. The store will have its main entrance at the intersection of College Avenue and Somerset Street.

•     A floor dedicated to textbooks, academic reference materials and school supplies

•     A “campus living room” and a children’s book corner that will provide space for entertainment and educational programs

•     A Scarlet Knights Shop with Rutgers merchandise

•     A main level featuring a wide selection of general interest books, a gift shop and a large café that will provide a venue for book signings, poetry readings, university and community lectures, musical performances and other local cultural events.

“Rutgers-New Brunswick needs and deserves a bookstore equal to the academic excellence of our university,” said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick, “and Barnes & Noble is an outstanding and welcomed resource that will fully meet the needs of Rutgers students and faculty.

“In addition to the new and enhanced services and programs Barnes & Noble will bring to the university bookstores, the superstore will be a destination in itself. It will be a place for readings by renowned authors who can just hop off the train from New York or Philadelphia. It will be a comfortable gathering place and a stimulating venue for special events. The superstore at The Gateway will serve as a dynamic bridge between Rutgers and the residents of New Brunswick.”

“We are thrilled to have formed this partnership with Rutgers,” said Max J. Roberts, president of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. “Working with Rutgers, we’ll create a best in class collegiate superstore that will become a knowledge and cultural hub for the university and the New Brunswick communities.”

Barnes & Noble operates more than 20 superstores nationwide. Many of these stores have assisted the revitalization efforts in downtown urban areas at schools such as Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Boston University and DePaul University. The Barnes & Noble at Rutgers University superstore is an important component of The Gateway project in New Brunswick.

“This redevelopment project will further the bonds between Rutgers University and New Brunswick,” said Mayor Jim Cahill. “It will encourage the use of public transportation, and create an exciting, dynamic and unique location that will welcome visitors to the Hub City and Rutgers University.”

"Having a major retailer like Barnes & Noble anchor The Gateway validates the success of the city's revitalization efforts,” said Christopher J. Paladino, president of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco). “It also proves that strong public private partnerships – like that of Rutgers, the city and Devco – can bring a better quality of life to our larger community."

University officials are working to ensure a seamless transition as Barnes & Noble assumes management of all Rutgers University bookstores in New Brunswick on Monday, November 3. They are reaching out to students and faculty to provide information and answer questions about the changeover.

The Student Cooperative Store on the Cook/Douglass campus is not affected by the change.

Barnes & Noble College Booksellers was selected by the university following a comprehensive and highly competitive request for proposal process, which included submissions from several national firms.

Devco expects to begin construction on The Gateway in early 2009. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in the fall of 2011.