With three other stores in the Lansing area, the East Lansing Gap permanently closed in December.

East Lansing city officials said its downtown establishment, 435 E. Grand River Ave., couldn't compete with the other mall-based locations and was forced to close.

Negotiations are underway for the next tenant of the 9,500-square-foot building, but interested businesses are not being disclosed at this time, said Brad Ballein, the property landlord and manager of the Student Book Store, 421 E. Grand River Ave.

"It was a good fit," Ballein said. "It just didn't fit well enough for them, unfortunately."

Amy Lund, spokeswoman for Gap Inc., declined to comment or confirm the store's closing.

Gap Inc., which includes Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, expected to close 160 stores this fiscal year and open 125 more as of November, according to its Web site.

"We were disappointed to have them leave East Lansing," Ballein said. "We brought them here in the first place."

Although Gap Inc. does not release information on particular shops, the company's Web site explains closings are based on the number of stores in an area, their locations and sales performances.

Results from a recent market study showed the East Lansing Gap, which opened in 2000, wasn't performing as well as the other area locations, said Jim van Ravensway, East Lansing planning and community development director.

But city leaders thought the success of the attached GapBody store would carry the retailer's business, because it was the only one in the area, he said.

"It had every reason to be here," he said. "There was just too many stores, and somebody had to go."

The company moved into town during a period of plummeting sales, van Ravensway said.

Net sales for Gap stores in the United States decreased between 2000 and 2003, but Gap Inc. performance has increased overall, according to figures on its Web site.

Gap Inc. was established in San Francisco, Calif., in 1969 and operates more than 3,000 stores globally.

Many returning students turned their heads to look at the tall glass windows now covered in brown paper on Sunday.

"I am heated," English junior Christine Hoffman said. "(GapBody) was my favorite underwear place and there's only two in Michigan."

Hoffman said she would like to see a similar retailer go in its place.

Other students were surprised at the unannounced closing, but weren't as torn up.

"You don't have to go too far to find a Gap," MSU graduate Aaron Batsakis said.

His friend, physiology senior Beau Makarewicz, said it will be interesting to see what store fills the opening.

There is no shortage of people who want a store in downtown East Lansing, van Ravensway said.

He said the city isn't dismissing the chance to bring in another corporate store.

National chains label an area as a place to shop, van Ravensway said.

"They send that message out to the market place and it draws people," he said. "It's up to the other businesses to take advantage of that."