Yale's Co-Op May Lose Lease

The Yale Co-op may be forced to surrender the location it has occupied for more than a century, the organization's president said yesterday.

Yale, which owns the Co-op's building, is considering not renewing the campus store's lease, which expires next June.

James Tilney, Yale's director of university properties, told the Associated Press that the university is seeking a better tenant for the 50,000 square foot space.

"That store is the largest in the district by far," he said. "We are looking for something that is exciting and draws people and adds vitality."

Tilney said the university is considering several proposals, including one from nation-wide book retailer Barnes and Noble. But, he said, the Co-op might be allowed to remain if changes are made.

Co-op President Harry W. Berkowitz said yesterday that he is confident about the possibility of saving the Co-op's lease.

"[Tilney] can't find anything better. We know that," Berkowitz said.

He derided the university's ambition to bring in a national retailer.

"[Yale] would be trading tradition for...another mini-mall," he said.

Berkowitz said he plans to relocate if the store loses its lease.

"The Co-op will keep its doors open no matter what," he said.

Berkowitz said he doesn't believe anyone is dissatisfied with the Co-op. The store's board, he said, is "all Yale," consisting of students, alums and faculty.

He cited a recent Yale Daily News editorial titled "Save the Co-op: Don't Lease to Barnes and Noble" as evidence that the student body supports the Co-op.

There is no indication that the Yale faculty would withdraw textbook orders from the Co-op.

According to Berkowitz, Yale owns between $60 and $80 million of real estate in New Haven, and the Co-op is one of the largest of its properties.

Although the Harvard Coop has struggled financially in recent years, and recently contracted out its management to Barnes and Noble, Coop officials said the store is safe from the Co-op's real-estate woes.

Berkowitz said Yale's Co-op is in far better financial shape than Harvard's Coop. The Co-op can claim zero debt and a "solid" book business.

"We've just finished the best year we've had in five years, unlike the Harvard Coop," he said, adding that he is good friends with Coop President Jeremiah P. Murphy '73, who could not be reached for comment.

Materials from the Associated Press were used in compiling this report.