The Gap, a national clothing chain, plans to open a store on Main Street next spring, according to the College and town business owners.
The Gap will move into College-owned retail space next to the Hanover Inn, where Brewster's clothing store used to be.
Paul Olsen, the College's real estate director, said The Gap and the College have signed a letter of intent, agreeing to "finalize all the details which would complete the deal."
Main Street store owners said The Gap is expected in early May.
Olsen said the clothing company has not set a Hanover opening date but added, "if they come I know it would be around that time."
"We've talked and continue to talk with them," Olsen said. But he said a contract has not yet been signed.
"Our hope and expectation is that we will be able to lease the space with them," he said.
Leo Giovanni, the New Hampshire representative for The Gap, could not be reached for comment.
In a previous interview, Giovanni, who works out of The Gap's Philadelphia office, said the company typically does not comment on new locations until a lease is signed.
Brewster's, a clothing and shoe store catering to an older clientele, went out of business last spring. Before that, Campion's, a family clothing and sporting goods store, occupied the building for more than 90 years.
Since Gap clothing appeals to college students, it will be in direct competition with other town retailers, including The Dartmouth Co-op, which specializes in Dartmouth apparel but also carries sportswear.
Co-op owner Allen Stowe said he is not worried about The Gap closing in on his store.
The merchandise carried by the two stores "probably overlaps a bit but we would adjust accordingly if we were going head to head and didn't want to," Stowe said.
Stowe said he had heard of The Gap's plans to come to Hanover and did not oppose them.
"An empty space like that ought to have somebody in it and we'd prefer it's a retailer," Stowe said.
He explained that another clothing store would bring more shoppers to Main Street who should be more inclined to visit other stores once they were in the area.
"Nobody sells in January or February in Hanover anyway," he said.
Stowe said clothing stores work on a six-month ordering schedule and since The Gap could not sign a lease in time to stock a new store for this Christmas season, he said the next best time to open a store would be at the beginning of the spring market.
The College and The Gap had negotiated after Campion's closed in 1991. Recent negotiations began over the summer, shortly after Brewster's closed.
