Merchandise will soon be moved out of the TCU Bookstore and into trailers located in the bookstore parking lot in order to prepare for construction, said Lisa Lewis, the store’s general manager.The trailers, which open Feb. 27, will provide about a quarter of the space the current bookstore has. Merchandise from the general reading and textbook sections of the bookstore will not be available but school supplies and clothing will, Lewis said.

Cody Visone, a junior entrepreneurial management major, said he is concerned with how the trailers will look to the passersby.

“It probably won’t have much curb appeal,” Visone said.

Lewis said many students currently park in the bookstore parking lot, but since the lot will be occupied by trailers and construction equipment, students will have to park elsewhere.

Ben Napier, a junior radio-TV-film major, said this will make parking on campus even harder.

The hours for the temporary bookstore are still in negotiation, but it will be a full-service store with full-service hours. Morning operating hours will not change, Lewis said.

In May, when textbook buyback begins, students will be able to sell their books back at a location on campus. The University Recreation Center, the Brown-Lupton Student Center and Worth Hills are being considered, Lewis said.

After the renovation, the bookstore will have a second floor just for textbooks. This area will be almost three times the size of the current textbook area, Lewis said. Also, an expansion of the bookstore caf‚ will provide more seating for students and visitors.

The north entrance will be renovated to resemble the Berry Street storefront in order to provide a more attractive entrance for students, most of whom use the back entrance, Lewis said.

“It’s a major renovation,” Lewis said. “The entire store is going to change.”

Lewis said a considerable effort will be made to ensure that each student employed by the bookstore gets to keep his or her job.

The bookstore will be closed Feb. 11-12 for inventory purposes and Feb. 24-26 to prepare for the move. During this time, basic school supplies will be available in a temporary location, Lewis said.

Bookstore construction is set to begin March 6 and is expected to last until the end of July. It will reopen in August. There will be a grand reopening celebration in September, as soon as the fall rush is through, Lewis said.