Residents in the Kitsap Peninsula area will have another option for buying gear and apparel when REI opens a store in Silverdale in fall of 2013.

The 24,500 square-foot store will be located at the intersection of Northwest Randall Way and Myhre Place Northwest. The store will be similar in size to the REI locations in Olympia and Tacoma.

The new Silverdale store will be much more convenient for more than 15,000 active REI members who live along the Kitsap Peninsula, said Kevin Golic, retail director for Washington and Alaska.

The company plans to hire about 50 employees. Candidates may apply online at rei.com/jobs about three months before the opening.

The Silverdale location will join eight other Puget Sound locations in serving more than 436,000 active members.