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Medford mall gets set to fall into the Gap By David Preszler Let the jumping, jivin' and wailing begin: The Gap is coming to the Rogue Valley Mall. The trendy clothing retailer has yet to sign a lease or make an official announcement. But its store locations department is telling callers that a Rogue Valley Mall Gap shows up on its listings but just hasn't opened yet. Mall officials confirmed Friday that they are negotiating with the Gap for the space formerly occupied by Lerner's and The Avenue on the lower level. That would put the Gap -- and reportedly a babyGap -- directly below Eddie Bauer and across from Miller's Outpost. "Until they have signed a lease, we can't make an announcement," said Jill Ditty, mall marketing director. Ditty did confirm that mall officials are discussing that space and said she expects a lease with the Gap to be signed within a few months. Mall General Manager Jeff Barber said the mall long has courted the popular retailer. Gap media spokeswoman Susan Straccia said it is the company's policy not to comment about new locations until a lease is signed. The Gap's pending arrival is common knowledge among other store managers in the mall, who said it would feature both a Gap and a babyGap that could open as early as May 1. The two clothing stores that were in the space have vacated it in recent weeks. The Avenue moved to the upper level this week and Lerner's closed last week. Rumors of the Gap's arrival have run rampant among younger shoppers -- the store's target audience -- who say they have bought Gap clothes on trips to larger cities and via the Internet. "Please, let it come," said Jessica Edwards, a 16-year-old Crater High School student. "I buy everything there." "Medford is big enough," said Crater student Donna Detone. "We need a cooler store. I heard rumors but I never thought it would go in here." "It's awesome because we need more stores like that," said 17-year-old Emmalee Finney. "It's a big deal to quite a few people.'' San Francisco-based Gap Inc. has more than 2,400 stores and did more than $9 billion in sales for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 31. It owns and operates the Gap, KidsGap, babyGap, the Banana Republic and Old Navy stores. The Gap, KidsGap and babyGap stores make up about 1,400 of those stores. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA