Community leaders see the renovation as a positive move for the Square.
Executive Director of Harvard Square Business Association Kristin T. Sudholz said she is satisfied with the Coop's plans to "maintain the essence and the architectural detail" of the Great Hall.
Sudholz said that area bookstores will not really be affected by the Coop's changes.
"Most bookstores have carved our a niche of their own," Sudholz said. "And stores like Wordsworth have shown their resilience through efforts like the Curious George annex."
Many store representatives concur. "I can't imagine that it will make a difference. It hasn't affected us this far," said Kate Damon, assistant manager of the Globe Corner Bookstore.
"If anything, we are getting more business because of the mess over there," Damon said.
Tyler Stewart, owner of Pandemonium, a science-fiction and fantasy bookstore in the Square, said his shop targets a specialized readership that the Coop Book Store would not affect.
Although Stewart noted that "there's been an ongoing conflict between smaller stores and superstores," he said that, overall, he is optimistic about the future of his business.
Others are more concerned about the Coop's renovation project.
Many say they lament the commercialization of the area, as well as the danger the new Coop poses for Harvard Square's small booksellers.
"I', sick of Harvard Square becoming a mall," said one customer in Buck-A-Book who declined to give her name.
Dan Moore, owner of McIntyre and Moore Booksellers, said he feels the Coop expansion is "a backdoor way" for Barnes and Noble to get into the Square.
"The whole thing is pretty worrisome," he said.
Others believe small booksellers' presence in Harvard Square is a statement against superstores.
"Barnes and Noble-type bookstores are very shallow," said Louisa Solano, owner of the Grolier Poetry Book Shop. "We're here to show that thought and imagination can endure."
--Julia M. Gardner, Nicholas A. Loss-Eaton and Leena L. Shankar contributed to the reporting of this story.