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A Sign Points To Office Depot Opening

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By LENORA LAKE, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 7, 2007

UNIVERSITY AREA - A sign at the site indicates Office Depot is opening a store in the former U-Save Supermarket at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue.

A spokeswoman for the Florida-based office supply company said she could not confirm it "because it is not on the spreadsheet" list of upcoming stores. That list goes only through early 2008, Melissa Perlman said.

"What I can tell you is we are opening nearly 100 stores in 2007 and 125 to 150 in 2008," Perlman said. "There is a lot of growth going on across the country." She added that Florida is a "priority market."
Perlman also could not say what would happen to the store at 1104 E. Fowler Ave. Some businesses in that area, including Rooms To Go and Circuit City, have closed their Fowler Avenue sites when they opened stores in nearby communities.

Management at the Fowler Avenue store and the West Coast area regional office of Office Depot would not answer questions. They referred all calls to the home office in Delray Beach, where the company was founded in 1986.

The space at University Plaza became available when U-Save closed Sept. 14.
Perlman said Office Depot is seeking locations that are convenient to small businesses.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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