The South Lamar Half Price Books location closed in March and will reopen at a new permanent location on South First Street later this year. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Half Price Books on South Lamar closed last month after decades of serving Austin readers. The store will operate from a temporary location while constructing a new permanent store on South First Street.
What you need to know
The bookstore closed last month and will move to 2607 S. First St., Austin, with an expected opening later this year, said media representative Emily Bruce. A groundbreaking for the new location took place Jan. 13.
In the interim, a temporary Half Price Books location will open in the same lot as the original building later this month at 3005 S. Lamar Blvd., Suite D-11, Austin, where customers can continue to buy and sell books, records, DVDs and other items.
During the closure, shoppers can continue to buy and sell books, records, DVDs and other items at 3005 S. Lamar Blvd., Suite D-11. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Staying local
Half Price Books purchased the South First Street building to ensure a permanent presence in Austin's evolving real estate market, according to a Jan. 15 news release.
"Half Price Books has been in the Austin market since 1975, so we've been in this region almost as long as the company has existed," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, president of Half Price Books. "With the ever-changing real estate market, we felt it was important to make this building purchase so we knew we'd have a permanent presence in this important, growing city."
The family-owned bookstore chain operates 115 locations across 19 states and buys and sells new and used books, magazines, comics, records, CDs, DVDs and collectibles.
Half Price Books' Texas regional manager, store manager, president, and Austin district manager, as well as two architects from Austin-based Studio8 Architects, stand beside a rendering of the new South First building, which will open later this year as part of a larger expansion project (Courtesy Half Price Books)
What's next
The South Lamar relocation is part of a larger expansion project. Half Price Books also purchased a building at 6411 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, where it will relocate its North Lamar store currently at 5555 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, at a future date. Additional store relocations are planned for San Antonio and Pittsburgh in 2026.
