When Knut Bauer was a student in graphic design and photography at the University in 1970, he couldn’t find an art store that he liked.

So, Bauer and some of his friends decided to start a Registered Student Organization in the Illini Union, the Associated Student Art Supply Store, to sell supplies to students.

The store quickly took off, becoming the Art Coop and moving from 605 E. Green St. in 1971, to 408 E. Green St. in 1976 and finally to its current location at 410 E. Green St.

Now, after 39 years, the store has decided to end its campus stretch and move to Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana.

“We’ve had a pretty good run on campus but we’ve just been dying a kind of slow death,” Bauer said. “The rent has been getting higher and higher and the school has switched to more digital arts. We want to be more community oriented but still be available to the campus community.”

Bauer stressed that he wants to maintain student involvement in the store. He said that on the first three days of the fall semester, college students will receive 20 to 40 percent discounts on all items.

“It’s pretty inevitable to lose student traffic, but we think we’re going to pick up a lot of Parkland (Community College) business, we hope to pick up Eastern Illinois (University), and ISU (Illinois State University),” Bauer said. “We want to still help the students pursue their dreams.”

He also said that the students have been using a lot more digital equipment, which the store doesn’t offer because “it is hard to keep up to pace with the new technology.”

Bauer is excited about the move because he thinks it will increase store business and possibilities for the store. He added that he thinks Urbana has become more of an art and music town, while Champaign sticks to bars and restaurants. He said he thinks Art Coop will fit well into the mold at Lincoln Square Mall.

“People complained a lot about the lack of accessibility because there was nowhere for them to park,” he said. “People were also scared to come here because they didn’t want to deal with coming to a college campus. Now they will be less concerned, and students can hop on a bus.”

Bauer, along with co-owner Susan Smith, have many plans for the new store.

With more space and higher ceilings, they said they are going to start a not-for-profit gallery where they won’t take commissions from the artists, but instead, ask them to donate 25 percent of their profits to a local charity. In this gallery, they also plan to start working on a project for the Boneyard Arts Festival, where they have as many old Art Coop employees as they can find put their works on display.

“It will kind of be a retrospective view of the years through the Art Coop,” Bauer said. “Most of our employees start as freshmen and work through their undergraduate and graduate years before moving on, so it will be fun to bring everyone back together.”

There will also be room to have art classes for adults and children in fields such as painting and pastels, as well as room for displays because the store is taking the place of Baskin Men’s Store in the Lincoln Square Mall.

“There are just a lot more opportunities at this new location,” Bauer said.

Some Urbana residents are also excited about the move.

“I haven’t been to the Art Coop, but I hope this helps Lincoln Square Mall improve,” said Audrey Hodgins, an Urbana resident of 47 years. “I like to support Urbana — not Champaign — and am pleased to see more independent businesses move here.”

Lincoln Square Mall is comprised of mostly independently owned businesses. The art gallery Wind, Water, Light moved there during the winter, and the Art Mart has been there since 1978. Brian McKay, owner of Art Mart, is excited for Art Coop to join the mall.

“A lot of the (Lincoln Square Mall) vacancies have been filled in the last couple years, and we think that Art Coop will bring in even more business.”