Bridie J. Clark '99 said this is the type of store that would best serve her needs.

"I want it to be convenient most of all," she said. "I don't want it to be a department store."

The store plans to begin extensive physical renovations after the second-semester rush in January.

The modifications will most likely include the installation of escalators in the front building and the expansion of floor space for books, school supplies and Harvard insignia goods.

"The plans for the Harvard Coop suggest this will be the most beautiful and grand store in the Square, returning the Coop to the prominence it used to have," said Daniel C. Allen '97, a member of the Coop Board of Directors and The Crimson's business manager.

"It won't look like a generic Barnes & Noble," Allen said.

The MIT Coop at Kendall renovation project was completed last month. Like the Harvard Square Coop's planned refurbishing, the MIT Coop has undergone extensive internal renovations and has shifted its sales focus to providing mainly academic necessities.