SEATTLE - Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) has announced plans to open a store in Issaquah in the fall of 2007.

The new 26,000 square-foot store will be located at an existing retail site at 735 N.W. Gilman Blvd. in the Commons at Issaquah shopping center. It will employ about 70 full- and part-time staff.

The new store will provide a gear rental department and clinic space for classes, presentations and events.

"Issaquah is a significant retail hub in the Seattle area and REI is pleased to have the opportunity to better serve our members and deepen our relationship with the community," said Sally Jewell, REI president and CEO. "Issaquah also serves as a gateway to the outdoors for many of our members who enter the Mountains to Sound Greenway along I-90 and local roads to reach countless recreation areas that we are fortunate to have close to our homes and workplaces."

REI, a coop founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest mountaineers, has five other Puget Sound-area locations: Seattle, Redmond, Alderwood, Tacoma and Southcenter.