Pacific Lutheran University, developers, and elected officials broke ground this morning on Garfield Commons, an $8 million commercial development that aims to revitalize an area surrounding the schools campus.
Located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Garfield Street, the 32,000-square-foot development will be anchored by the 15,000-square-foot PLU bookstore. The PLU Northwest and Scandinavian Gift Shop will be integrated within the bookstore. The remaining space is to be distributed among 11 additional retail stores.
Our primary goal with this development is to anchor the Garfield Street business district with new retail stores and restaurants, and increase pedestrian traffic, said Hal Ferris, partner at Lorig Associates, which is developing the project with the university. We also wanted to strengthen ties to the community by building a new entrance to campus and giving PLUs bookstore a public presence.
By moving the bookstore off-campus, it will encourage increased interaction between students and the community, said Mark Mulder, director of auxiliary services at PLU. The bookstore will grow its roots within the local business district, engaging everyone it serves.
The project is expected to be completed in November.
