DECATUR - Decatur's OfficeMax is one of 110 underperforming stores that will close by the end of March in order to strengthen the company's performance.

OfficeMax Inc. announced the closing on Thursday through a news release. Three other OfficeMax stores in Illinois - in Carbondale, Elk Grove Village and Lansing - also will shut down in an effort to turn around the office supply company's recent track record of losses.

The Decatur store has been open since 2000. Store management declined comment on its impending close.

Locally, the loss of the OfficeMax will create another gap in the shopping center at 2800 N. Water St., where K's Merchandise, Hollywood Video and National Rent to Own still operate beside the space once occupied by the former Schnucks grocery store.

OfficeMax has posted the Decatur store location on its corporate Web site as a property that is available for assignment or sublease. Northgate Limited Partnership - a company with a Los Angeles address - is the registered owner of the property, according to documents kept by the Macon County Recorder's office.

The fact that both parties aren't local may not bode well for filling the space soon, said appraiser Kent Fitzjarrald, who annually produces a review of the commercial real estate market.

"I think it's always better to have a property owned by someone locally than somebody many, many miles away," Fitzjarrald said.

Those selling space in the center need to be aggressive and easy to reach in order to fill the spot with another tenant, he said. After all, national companies usually gravitate toward regional malls when selecting a new location - a point proven by the recent openings of Best Buy and Target, both of which aren't too far from Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth. The OfficeMax site is removed from the mall action, and might not be as attractive, he said.

"They're going to have to be very competitive with their rents and be willing to do some remodeling and some updating," he said of those who will be marketing the space. "That's about all they can do."

Also working against the site is the fact that often larger stores want to construct their own buildings instead of moving into older ones, said Norm Willoughby, executive officer of the Decatur Association of Realtors.

"I think the problem we have on some of those is they're built for a specific purpose, and when that purpose is removed, it appears that most of the larger franchise stores don't want to move into existing buildings and adapt," he said.

Amy Hoak can be reached at ahoak@herald-review.com or 421-7972.