SOUTH SHORE — Staples will close its South Shore location on May 17.
The office supply store at 7554 S. Stony Island Ave. will be one of 225 shuttered across the country as part of a sweeping move by the company to eliminate $500 million in costs from its 2015 budget.
The closure could leave another vacant storefront in the south lakefront neighborhood that has seen several major businesses end in recent months, including a Dominick’s grocery store and Urban Partnership Bank.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said she did not expect the storefront to remain vacant long.
“I talked to the owner of the mall, and they have a tenant already,” Hairston said at a Tuesday night ward meeting at Hyde Park Academy.
She said she could not say what the new business would be until all leases and rental agreements were finalized, but assured residents it would not be a dollar store.
"There is somebody ready to go in, so that's good news," Hairston said.
Marianna Louderman, the property manager at Terraco Real Estate Management, declined to comment on ongoing negotiations with possible tenants.
The South Shore closure comes as the company sees about half its sales now generated online, according to an Associated Press report.
A Staples representative could not be reached for comment.
