The Barnes & Noble bookstore at 2501 Tyrone Blvd. N., which has operated across from Tyrone Square Mall for more than 30 years, will eventually close after BayCare Health System purchased the property in January for $10 million. However, neither the health system nor the bookstore chain will disclose when.

BayCare plans to convert the 15,800-square-foot building into a freestanding emergency room as part of a $30 million project approved through Pinellas County municipal bonds in August. The store remains open and continues to host events scheduled through March.

“We are honoring an existing lease by the current tenant,” said C. Todd Jones, BayCare’s chief strategy officer. He declined to say when the lease expires or when construction would begin. BayCare spokesperson Mary Marandi said the company knows the timeline but won’t share it publicly until Barnes & Noble informs its employees.

Barnes & Noble spokesperson Janine Flanigan said the company has “no imminent plans to close” and will serve customers “for as long as we are able.” She did not respond to questions about whether the company is seeking a new St. Petersburg location or when staff would be notified of a closing date.

The Tyrone location, which opened when the building was constructed in 1993, is the only Barnes & Noble in St. Petersburg. The store operates 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

BayCare previously purchased a closed Barnes & Noble in Tampa’s Carrollwood neighborhood in 2024 for $10.5 million to build an urgent care center. That store relocated about a mile away and reopened in a former Bed Bath & Beyond space in April, approximately eight months after leaving its original location.

Barnes & Noble has been expanding in Florida, opening six locations in the state this year, including a Palm Harbor store last month. The company expects to open more than 60 stores nationwide in 2025.

The new emergency room will be affiliated with St. Anthony’s Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg and will employ about 40 people. BayCare will repurpose the existing structure rather than demolish it. The facility will be the health system’s second freestanding emergency room in the area, joining the Bardmoor Emergency Center in Largo.

The property sits on approximately two acres, less than a mile from BayCare’s existing urgent care center on 66th Street North and about 1.5 miles from HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital.

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