Austin, TX (April 11, 2008) –In order to restore the much missed Friends of the Library Bookstore for the use of the community, the City of Austin signed a five-year lease for a 7,675-sf book store. Much like the previous Monster Book Store recently displaced by construction of the new Twin Oaks Branch Library in South Austin, this store will offer donated and quality, used library books for sale, with the proceeds going to the city for support of the municipal library system .
The as-yet un-named store is at 5335 Burnet Rd. in the central part of Austin, and is scheduled for a mid-summer 2008 opening. The store will also offer live music, coffee and a children's section. The space is currently undergoing renovations under the direction of Amy Crail, construction manager with Yancey-Hausman's Austin office.
Laura Coffin, retail associate with Yancey-Hausman's Austin office said the store will be similar to Half-Price Books and other used book stores, but the extra attraction for customers is that the money they spend on books will go back to their community library system.
"This will be the Library Department’s prototype bookstore," said Coffin, who structured the deal between the city and shopping center owner Pajo Properties of Austin. "They'll see how this one goes. If it proves successful, they will model the Friends of the Library bookstore planned for inclusion in their new central library after this one, I’m sure."
Coffin, who worked with Yancey-Hausman Retail Associate Shannon Albright-Diaz on the lease, added that the library store concept fits perfectly into the city's "Keep Austin Weird" motto. "This shows that Austin is a unique place that has out-of-the-box ideas to keep things running smoothly," she added.
Yancey-Hausman is a full-service commercial real estate company providing services for office, industrial, retail and land projects. The company’s spectrum of real estate services includes project leasing, tenant representation, property management, development services, property acquisitions, investment sales and research. Established in 1971, the firm currently has more than 60 employees in offices in Houston and Austin. For further information on Yancey-Hausman, phone 713-462-8802 (Houston) or 512-480-9800 (Austin) or visit www.yancey-hausman.com on the Web.
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