CHANGES IN STORE
Burlington taking over Barnes & Noble space; book retailer’s local fate unclear
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » Barnes & Noble Booksellers is leaving the Ulster Crossing plaza on Ulster Avenue (Route 9W) to make room for a Burlington clothing store that’s moving from just up the road, according to town officials.
It was unclear Wednesday whether Barnes & Noble plans to move to a new location within the town or nearby, or whether it is ending its 16-year local presence.
“I can confirm, without a doubt, that Burlington is moving to the current Barnes and Noble location,” Warren Tutt, the town of Ulster building inspector, said Wednesday. “I have no indication of Barnes and Noble moving anywhere in the town.
“I have not received anything
from [Barnes & Noble] corporate on relocation,” he said.
Barnes & Noble’s corporate office did not respond to a reporter’s phone and email messages Wednesday.
Tutt said Burlington, which is at 1375 Ulster Ave., in the same plaza as Staples,
has received the necessary approvals to move into the space at 1177 Ulster Ave. now occupied by the bookstore and is expected to be in its new location around March 1.
Tutt said the 24,636 square feet that Burlington will occupy in its new location is smaller than the store’s current space, which the retailer, formerly called Burlington Coat Factory, has occupied since 2001.
Barnes & Noble has been
at its current location in Ulster since November 2004.
In March 2020, seven months after Barnes & Noble was purchased by Elliott Management, the hedge fund owner of U.K.based bookstore chain Waterstones, the company announced the temporary closure of more than 400 of its 627 U.S. stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Barnes & Noble store in the town of Ulster is currently open.