Rising rental costs along Route 1 pushed BookHolders to move, sparking frustration among some University of Maryland students who find the new location inconvenient.

The bookstore, which was originally located at 7417 Baltimore Ave., has long been popular among students deciding where to buy textbooks. The Route 1 storefront closed its doors this summer, and BookHolders’ office warehouse location on Berwyn Road began selling books in mid-August, said Jewel Verde, College Park area manager.

The city’s BookHolders first opened in 2000, Verde said. It was a popular alternative to the University Book Center, allowing students to buy textbooks for a fraction of their original price and resell used books for profit.

As the company watched numerous restaurants and stores move in and out of the area while rent prices steadily increased, the owner decided it was time to relocate, Verde said.

“[The rent] just skyrocketed, so we moved out,” she said.

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Veronica Salcido, the leasing agent for BookHolders’ former space on Route 1, said the rental rate is a product of many factors, including the amount tenants are willing to pay and the development in the surrounding area. She could not provide rent numbers, she said.

“[Route 1 is] clearly growing,” Salcido said. “It’s getting more people — not necessarily students — coming in, shopping and dining.”

Some students complained about the move. The new store is a 20-minute walk from its original location and is no longer a convenient distance from residence halls and off-campus apartments such as Landmark and Terrapin Row.

Zacharie Dragenice, a senior economics major, found out about the move while attempting to buy books for a class he had later that day.

“I went there and I didn’t know they moved, and when I found out it was now at a warehouse, I was like, ‘No way I’m coming back there,” Dragenice said.

Dragenice decided he was no longer going to do business with BookHolders. He now orders books on Amazon, which offers a pickup service in Terrapin Row.

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Iyanna Latimer, a junior criminology and criminal justice major, said she’ll continue to get her books at BookHolders because it’s cheap, but the new situation isn’t ideal.

“It’s really inconvenient,” she said. “You could catch your bus there before, but now you can’t.”

To make the warehouse more like a store, several doors were added and shelves were rebuilt to accommodate more books, said office manager Joe Silver. Bookholders also had to undergo an “improvised” hiring process, as some workers found the new store’s longer distance from the campus inconvenient and left after the move, he said.

“We had to change a little bit, because the location is farther from campus,” Silver said. “We’re focused on people who can get here and are less worried about having to walk to the store.”

Rachel Sobey-Strick, a senior studio art major, has been working at BookHolders for the past two years. She said in-store sales have decreased, as many students have called the store, confused about the move.

“It’s not the most convenient location, but we have a lot more space here, so that’s good,” Sobey-Strick said. “[Sales] decreased for a little bit when we first moved. … They probably still are a little slower than they would have been the past couples of years, but it’s not horrible.”

The company’s online delivery service has experienced more traffic since the move, Verde said. To make the move easier on students, BookHolders offers two popup locations on weekdays in the Landmark and Terrapin Row apartments, Verde said.

Verde added that, in addition to cost constraints, the previous location did not have a lot of warehouse space to accommodate all the books that the store carries, so the company hopes to relocate to an even bigger space closer to the campus.

“It was getting very congested, and we wanted a bigger store,” Verde said. “We want somewhere we can put the location of our warehouse, store and office all together.”