Barnes & Noble will open in June at the northeast corner of Lake Street and Harlem Avenue in Oak Park, occupying a historic building that has been vacant for 12 years. 

The building, at 1144 Lake St., was last occupied by Borders bookstore, which closed when the company went out of business. Plans are now underway to restore the property, according to John Melaniphy, the assistant village manager for Oak Park’s Office of Economic Vitality.

Late last year, the Village Board approved landmark status for the property, which allowed the building’s owner to apply for a special tax break for owners of historic buildings. This Class L designation by Cook County will save the building’s owner $550,000 in taxes over 12 years. 

The five-story building was constructed in 1929 by Marshall Fields and Company as its first suburban store, according to the landmark status application. It was designed by the architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White in a style described as “Art Deco modernity tempered by a corporate sense of tradition.”

Prior to Barnes & Noble, several companies submitted proposals to occupy the space, including Dom’s Kitchen & Market, a Bank of America branch, a discount retailer and others, according to a July 18 memo from the village about the redevelopment of the property.

Leasing the building proved challenging due to its lack of significant outdoor seating space or dedicated parking, large columns within the space that reduce the viability of certain potential commercial floor plans and unique build‐out costs to get an older historical building up to modern retail standards.

Finding a retail tenant at this significant corner location offers “visual and psychological benefits,” according to Melaniphy. He explained that the appearance of a vacant building is detrimental to the economic vitality of a community. The opening of an established and recognizable brand will attract buyers and more visitors, especially considering that there are no other Barnes & Noble stores in the area; the closest are in Oak Brook and Wicker Park.  

Although Melaniphy believes that the opening of a major chain retailer will be a positive addition to the neighborhood commerce, he also emphasized that small businesses are a vital part of the community of Oak Park, and that it is the Village’s best interest to preserve them.

“We don’t want to forget about the unique local businesses that we have, and entrepreneurial owners of those businesses,” he said. “That is what makes Oak Park unique.”

In late 2024, independently owned bookstore The Book Table closed after 20 years in business in Oak Park. Two independent bookstores have opened since. There is the Book Loft, 1047 Lake St., which opened in the arts section of the old Book Table, and Dandelion Bookshop at 139 S. Oak Park Ave., across the street from the Maya del Sol restaurant. 

Jamie Ericson is the owner of Dandelion, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. When asked about the opening of Barnes & Noble, Ericson replied, “I’ve had a lot of people tell me that there were five bookstores here at one time, and they all were thriving…I think this is such a literary place that I feel like there’s room for books for everybody.” 

She continued, “I keep reminding myself, we picked the name Dandelion on purpose, because they’re resilient and they’re really stubborn and hard to get rid of. And so just kind of keep that in mind the whole time, because I think there’s room for everyone, but I think we’re going to have to keep working.” 

The owners of the Book Loft, which is owned by Heather Nelson and Sophie Eldred, have more direct competition due to their store’s geographical proximity to the Barnes & Noble. “Barnes and Noble is owned by a private equity firm; money is not an issue for them. I’m not sure that they’re thinking about reinvesting into Oak Park. Only being open six months, we have over 15 organizations that we’ve supported, sponsored or collaborated with since we’ve opened, and that is tremendously important to us. So I think that’s the difference,” Nelson said. 

Nelson and Eldred said that they plan to differentiate themselves by building community through monthly book clubs, personable customer service, and other events that bring Oak Park and River Forest community members together at their store. The Dandelion also has a monthly book club, as well as author visits, monthly journaling sessions, and more events. 

Melaniphy said, “Barnes and Noble will have a positive impact on other bookstores, because it will draw bookstore customers to downtown Oak Park, and if they can’t find what they might be looking for at Barnes & Noble, they can go to the Book Loft and the other bookstores in downtown Oak Park.”

The Trapeze attempted to contact Barnes & Noble representatives in order to allow them to share their perspective for this piece, but no response was received.