The WKU Store on the main campus will close down from July 3-31 to relocate to the new store location on the ground floor of the Downing University Center.

The new WKU store is one of the many new features a part of the phase one completion of the renovations at DUC.

Closing down the WKU Store for an entire month is one of the things that Lacey Jackson from Marketing says will be tough to overcome for a month, but that in the end it will all pay off.

“It’s really unfortunate because our main goal on campus is to be here for the students,” Jackson said. “It is going to be difficult, but it has to be done. It will be all worth it in the end.”

Students will have until July 2 to get textbooks, supplies and merchandise from the WKU store in the Garrett Conference Center.

“It’s really the July session classes that will feel that displacement,” Jackson said. “The South Campus store will still be open, but with very limited hours. Our Nashville Road store is still open, but you can’t purchase textbooks from there.”

Jackson said there is no exact date as to when the new WKU store will open, and that it all depends on the speed of the work completed.

The new store will have a large door at the corner of DUC facing Smith Stadium, something that Planning, Design and Construction director Bryan Russell says is one of the neatest things about the renovations along with other entities.

“To me, it’s pretty fascinating,” Russell said. “We’re going to have a stained concrete floor and all new fixtures. We’ll have decorative drop ceiling clouds. What that is going to do for customers when they walk in is there will be areas where they know for sure where a point of sale is.”

Lighting in the WKU store is one of the upgrades that Jackson said will provide a welcoming atmosphere to customers.

“One of the newest things they’ll recognize is that there will be windows to let in natural light,” Jackson said. “When you look back at the old store, it was kind of in a cave. Hopefully when people come into the store this time, it will be much more inviting.”

While the store is scheduled to open sometime in August, Jackson said making sure everything functions properly could be the only set back to opening.

“What’s really going to get us in the beginning of August is connectivity,” Jackson said. “Are the registers talking, are the computers working. We have thousands of students enrolled in our textbook reservation program, and we have to start pulling those books very quickly.

“If you see merchandise in the store, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re open. It means we’re testing things, but not open to the public just yet.”