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Show A-22 The Park Record Wednesday, September 18. 1996 REI gets a stunning but practical new home and helps employees Hi FA Id This Elk Run Condo Has It All! Lois of trees, flower gardens and a fenced yard add lo the charm of this cozy 3 bedroom, 3 12 bath condo. Two decks offer sun and mountain views. Many upgrades inside include berber carpet, ceramic tile kitchen counters, built-in microwave, gas range, fireplace & water heater, tinted windows, french doors off extended dining room to second deck. JUST REDUCED TO $220,000! Cozy Log Home in Summit Park This charming 2 year new home is a must see inside) Main level is open floor plan with living, liv-ing, dining, kitchen , study and 34 hath. Upper level has huge master and full hath wilh double vanity. Lower level has guest bedroom and laundry. River rock wall with "Vermont Casting" gas burning stove in living room. Mountain views. $6500 in natural landscaping with over SO trees. Great starter home, avoid condo tees. Call today for an appointment. $179,900 LOTS Summit Park I 12 acres $60,000 Kamas 10 12 acres $95,000 3.40 acre parcels $100,000 - $120,000 X JESS REID -K I A L If S I A I fc Jackie Harwood 801-647-3204 K Ml happening: M FRI. & SAT. SEPT 20, 2T HEADSHAKE 4 - -S TUES. &WED. SEPT 24, 25 CAROLINE'S SPINE FRF. & SAT. SEPT 27, 28 HYPNOTIC CLAMBAKE COZY GOLF CLUB TOURNAMENTPARTY SUNDAY, SEPT 22 WENDOVER CALL FOR DETAILS 438 MAIN ST. PARK CITY, UT 649-6038 A PRIVATE CLUB FOR MEMBERS MS mhmm Seattle flagship store features waterfall, seven-story climbing wall and indoor bike trail by George Tibbits AP BUSINESS WRITER SEATTLE (AP) Showing off Recreational Equipment Inc.'s stunning new flagship store, a spokesman stresses that every feature the 30-foot waterfall, seven-story climbing pinnacle, landscaped bike trail, massive stone fireplace was chosen for its practicality. How REI. In a city where glitz is frowned upon, where the parka was pioneered pio-neered as business attire and even the rockers wear flannel, a cultural icon is going uptown. The outdoor equipment chain, known to many as just "the coop," co-op," is as much a part of Seattle's soul as the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the deep chord of a ferry's horn or espresso espres-so stains on a raincoat. For decades, its main store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood has been a place to bring out-of-town guests, as well as the jumping-off point for expeditions from kindergarten hikes to assaults on K-2. The old store, beloved by thousands of co-op members, was a former auto dealership a creaky warren of cramped showrooms show-rooms joined by ramps and oddly spaced stairs, where customers from throughout the world shopped for tents, canoes, skis, outdoor duds, boots, bikes and other gear for "human-powered" recreation. Co-op members often spoke of the building's distinctive smell: a mix of boot grease, freeze-dried food, oiled wood floors, high-tech plastic, coffee, and creosote from the wooden floor blocks of the old garage. The new place hasn't developed devel-oped a smell yet, though REI planners no doubt tried. The huge new store is the outcome of focus groups, a survey of 30,000 customers, employee wish lists and an aggressive attempt to create cre-ate ambiance. The idea, says REI spokesman Christopher Doyle, was to "keep the store "warm' and evoke the memory of the old store." Started by a group of mountain moun-tain climbers in 1938 as a way to order hard-to-find gear, REI has grown to be the nation's largest member-owned consumer cooperative, coop-erative, with more than 1.4 million mil-lion members. It has 46 retail outlets nationwide, a worldwide mail-order business and a travel company. Sales last year reached $448 million. Members pay $15 to join and receive a yearly rebate based on how much they buy. For years after REI moved to Capitol Hill in 1963, it was pri marily a backpacking- and climbing-gear store personified by its longtime manager, Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest. But like other retailers, such as L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer, REI changed in the late 1970s and 80s to meet the burgeoning demand for a wide range of gear by outdoor enthusiasts, and by those who just wanted to look like they'd been there. Under Wally Smith, the current cur-rent president and chief executive execu-tive officer, REI slowly expanded, expand-ed, mostly in strip malls and college-town storefronts. The new 99,000-square-foot building, which opens to customers cus-tomers Friday, is a radical departure. depar-ture. "This is brand-new for REI," Doyle said. "We view this as our member clubhouse, and also as a laboratory." He wouldn't say how much the store cost, though published reports have placed it at $30 million. mil-lion. With more than twice the retail space of the old store, it takes up a two-acre block in Seattle's south Lake Union area, a neighborhood of warehouses and freeway on-ramps that has begun to revitalize. Designed by Mithun Partners of Seattle, the store is a soaring mix of wood, glass, steel and concrete con-crete designed to suggest a casual casu-al mountain lodge, albeit one with a 65-foot, glass-enclosed climbing rock at the front door. The Pinnacle, the tallest freestanding free-standing indoor climbing structure struc-ture in the world, weighs 110 tons and has more than 1,000 artificial holds, enough to accommodate accom-modate 15 climbers at once. It can challenge both beginners and experts, Doyle says, and will be used by customers to try out products, learn techniques, or just for fun. The store itself, fundamentally fundamental-ly one large room, lets REI offer far more products than the old building. For example, the old store could showcase three dozen bicycles; the new place stocks 350. The walls are corrugated steel and bare plywood, and the concrete con-crete floor has been blasted in spots to appear worn. At the building's center is the fireplace, surrounded by heavy padded furniture fur-niture and freestanding stone perches. Huge recycled wood beams support the open, upper floor. Small touches abound. Ice axes serve as door pulls. Elevator doors are lined by terra-cotta friezes of outdoor scenes. Clocks on the front patio resemble oversize over-size Swiss Army watches and show the times at Everest, Kilimanjaro and other faraway adventure spots. Animal footprints foot-prints scattered throughout the store not only teach about nature, but will be used as way-points way-points to demonstrate compass use. Beneath the building is parking park-ing for 580 cars the old store had just 33 perpetually filled spaces. Outside, the grounds are landscaped with trails to test mountain bikes and hiking boots, a tumbling waterfall that ends in a quiet pool, and 58 different species of Northwest plants. Despite the studied outdoorsi-ness, outdoorsi-ness, the building is state-of-the-art, designed to be practical and bring in profits, Doyle said. Features include: A 250-seat auditorium with big-screen TVs and other multimedia. multi-media. A deli and juice bar that seats 100, with room for more on an adjacent deck. An indoor Global Positioning Satellite system to allow demonstrations of the electronic elec-tronic locating technology. Wiring throughout for computers, com-puters, with terminals to the Internet so customers can find information on outdoor destinations. destina-tions. A well-padded kids' play area with a slide, tent, and crannies cran-nies to explore. A "rain room" sponsored by Gore-Tex, the maker of waterproof water-proof fabric, where customers can check rain gear in showers. A sealed "dark room." where bike lights and headlamps can be tested. As for the old store, it closes Wednesday and is being sold to a thrift-store chain. To help employees let go of the old landmark, REI management manage-ment brought in a grief counselor. coun-selor. And to symbolize the transition, tran-sition, some of the old creosote-soaked creosote-soaked floor blocks were taken up and set in the threshold of the new front door. Local convention properties report the following groups are meeting in Park City the week of Sept. 22-28, 22-28, 1996. 46 Groups Attendees Ray Quinney & Nebeber 12 Walker Texas Ranger 25 Savage Industries 20 North West Pipeline 30 American Nuclear Society 400 Rocky Mtn. Apprenticeship 150 BYU In Service Workshop 65 Farmers Insurance 35 NEP Enterprises 30 Utah State Dept. of Human Services 100 Travel Network 12 Global Church of God 200 Covey Leadership 15 Q-Lube 25 Int'l Society of Hospitality Consultants 85 All Travel 8 Oppenheimer Funds 10 Mealy Publications 10 CSIDonner 11 Gensia, Inc. 12 Bank Boston Capital 23 NBC Sports 12 Pegasus Gold 20 Investors Dynamic 250 LDS Real Estate 60 Utah Forensics 30 Park City Ski Area 40 Intermountain Staffing 65 Western Correctional 100 Barns Banking 7 Investors Dynamics 25 N.G.V. Institute 33 Western Frontiers 38 J.R. Simplot 35 -Utah Facilities Operation Maint. Assoc. 50 National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers 60 Utah Society of Hospital Pharmacists 210 Western Correctional Association 450 Utah Department of Transportation 50 DVR (Division of Novell) 25 GTE Customer Service 12 University of Utah 10 Bank of Utah 20 World Class Travel 14 SLC Credit Union 13 Weber State C.U. 24 TOTAL 2,931 THIS IS A 7 INCREASE COMPARED TO THE" SAME WEEK LAST YEAR. Mulberry (Street Restaurant Early Bird Special 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm $8.95 Soup du jour and your choice of: Fresh Salmon served with house pasta and fresh vegetables Chicken Farmigiana served with house pasta 6 fresh vegetables Fenne ala Checca diced fresh tomatoes, olive oil, sweet basil . 6C pinenuts Plenty of parking underground Marriott's Summit Watch Building 738 Main Street, Park City - 649-0888 Open for Lunch: Tuesday-Saturday Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday r a ft n mNi mmskis. qW3 GO EAGkS NEsT HOUSEKEEPING " Qrom Coayes to Gasifes. . . 50 off First ! Cleaning with contract 1 Day or Cueniny Service !7ree Csimaes Gonsrucion Gfean Qp janitorial Glean , Personal Sioppiny Uafe Service References (801) 645-7353 (800) 250-9649 Licensed, Bonded, Insured |