Oakbrook Terrace Barnes & Noble to relocate

The Barnes & Noble store in Oakbrook Terrace soon will move across the street into Oak Brook.

A new home for the bookstore will open Nov. 12 at Oakbrook Center near the Neiman Marcus and Tiffany & Co. stores. The 40,000-square-foot facility will be one of the largest Barnes & Noble stores in the Chicago area and stock close to 200,000 books, music CDs, DVDs and magazines.

"The new store at Oakbrook Mall will join one of the most successful malls in the country and benefit from being with many great retailers and restaurants," said Howard Spiva, Barnes & Noble real estate director. "The existing Oakbrook Terrace store stood alone."

Spiva said the existing 20,000-square-foot store at 1S550 Route 83 is small by the company's standards.

Marty Bourke, Oakbrook Terrace's city manager, said Barnes & Noble had some problems with parking and wanted a substantially larger store that the site couldn't accommodate. The 16-year-old bookstore generated between $40,000 and $50,000 a year in sales tax revenue for Oakbrook Terrace.

"We're very sorry to see any business go and leave the community," Bourke said. "We certainly have other businesses that have moved in that can help us make up for that, but certainly we don't enjoy seeing it happen."

The owners of the property where the Oakbrook Terrace Barnes & Noble stands are expected to present a redevelopment proposal for the parcel to the city's plan commission in November.

Meanwhile, Suzanne Beres, Oakbrook Center's senior marketing manager, said the bookstore will be a great addition to the mall.

"We're delighted that they chose Oakbrook Center to move their operation to and design a flagship store right here in Oak Brook," she said. "It definitely offers a need that our customers have been asking for."

The bookstore will feature a cafe serving Starbucks coffee. It also will have a study and meeting area, a Barnes & Noble at School section with resource materials for educators and home-schoolers and an expanded Libros en Espanol section.

Beres said the store will offer a service for shoppers and the community.

"With it being one of the largest Barnes & Noble's in their portfolio, they're going to have a great selection," she said, "and probably a selection that's very unique for the Western suburbs."