PRESQUE ISLE – An office-supply store chain which was looking to set up shop at the North Plaza Shopping Center has signed on to become the latest tenant at the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle.

Staples Inc., a $13.2 billion retailer which operates approximately 1,600 office superstores worldwide including 11 in Maine, will take 15,000 square feet of space in the store area that used to house Porteous. The mall has prospects for the remaining 40,000 square feet of space left over in the area, according to mall manager Patti Crooks.

Officials expect to begin remodeling work this week with plans to open the store in mid-August.

The store will bring 25 to 30 full-time and part-time jobs to Presque Isle.

The company this spring had considered locating its store on North Street in the space now occupied by Video Monitoring Services, Inc. before signing a contract with the local mall.

A Staples spokeswoman said recently that the company was looking to bring a store to northern Maine because of its past success in the state and because of the key elements that the city offered – high traffic, a growing community and an area with lots of small businesses and home office users.