It's a Target. Probably.
City officials and developer Thomas Walker confirmed Springfield’s second Target store, and other retail storefronts, are being planned for a large development project dubbed the Sunshine Towne Center at the southeast corner of the intersection of West Bypass and Sunshine Street.
The big box store, or anchor retailer of the development, which is dependent upon annexation and rezoning of property by the city, has been shrouded in secrecy since Walker looked at the site almost two years ago. The Hauxeda’s Steve Pokin asked around in March to see if the site is set to feature a Target, but got no answers.
Even at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting May 11, in which a preliminary plat for the development was approved, Walker wasn’t ready to share the details about the largest tenant on the property.
It wasn’t until Amanda Ohlensehlen, the city’s director of economic vitality, in a presentation about the development at the June 5 City Council meeting, displayed a slide of the site plan for the property, with the largest building labeled “Target,” that it became clear what the big box retailer was.
“I have to make a disclaimer here,” Walker later told council members. “This has been the worst kept secret that I've ever had in Springfield.”
Target will confirm Target
While Walker was able to unveil plans to bring Target to the development, he emphasized that negotiations with the company were still ongoing, with additional engineering left to be completed.
“I want to make sure that we understand that Target is still not completely committed to this site,” he said. “Even though we're 90 percent of the way there, the official announcement will come from Target, it will not come from us… They're fully on board, but any public announcement will come from them.”
Walker, who previously developed the Walmart Supercenter across the street at 3520 W. Sunshine Street, said he underestimated the complexity of the site before having hydrology engineers look to solve the significant drainage problems on the property.
“Because it's so flat — and people think ‘Well, it's flat, it's got to be easy.’ It makes it incredibly difficult to get it to drain, because the water's got nowhere to go,” Walker said.
Other aspects of the development have contributed to the lengthy timeline of the project, including annexing land from unincorporated Greene County into the city, identifying and establishing access points and thoroughfares and ensuring a sizable buffer between the development and residents along the south property boundary line.
Walker said that Target is seeking to have the stormwater detention underground, which is a “massive undertaking.”
While Walker admitted that there is still a lot of work left to do to move the development forward, he said that they would like to begin construction this summer, with April 2025 as the estimated opening of the Target store.
Details of the development
Upon annexation of approximately 9.3 acres of property, the applicants, listed as Donald L. and Patricia L. McCurry Trust, Greene County, are seeking to rezone a total of 22.4 acres from a patchwork of Springfield and Greene County zoning to a highway commercial district, the city’s most intense commercial district, and establish a conditional overlay district.
Walker emphasized that the property will have a buffer yard that “far” exceeds buffering standards in their attempts to be sensitive to the nearby residents. The buffer yard will contain a privacy fence, a slope and screen wall and as many trees as they’re able to save during construction.
The rezoning case was previously brought before the City Council on April 3, but was remanded back to the Planning and Zoning Commission. City staff recommends approval of both the annexation and the rezoning of the property.
Springfield West Partners, an LLC involved in the project, is seeking to enter into an infrastructure reimbursement agreement with the city, which city staff also recommends. The agreement would reimburse the developer up to $6.07 million for public infrastructure improvements around the property with city sales tax generated through the development.
While the term is limited to 15 years, or until reimbursable costs are paid, Ohlensehlen estimated the city could pay the developer back in as little as 10 years with inflation and growth.
This could especially be true with the popularity of a store like Target. According to store data, the Target located at 1825 E. Primrose St. in Springfield is the busiest location in Missouri, and the 37th busiest for the entire company.
While Ohlensehlen said the new store could take some business away from the other store, the Primrose location’s popularity indicated the necessity for a second Target.
Ohlensehlen said the development will generate more retail opportunities near that “strategically important” intersection, and that the public improvements will help leverage those future investments.
More than Target in the shopping center
While Target stole this story’s headline, the development contains much more than the big box store.
The Target will be almost 150,000 square feet. Four additional parcels will contain 50,000 square feet in additional retail space, and a 7,500-square foot restaurant.
Ohlensehlen said the development will feature a “new prototype” for Target stores, one that includes an additional 30,000 square feet than the chain’s typical buildings. That is because it will house a fulfillment center and provide an area for customers to pick up orders placed online without having to go into the store.
“It’s quite the store,” Walker said.
The total construction cost of the shopping center is estimated to be about $60 million, with the Target building making up about half of that cost. The construction is estimated to create about 140 new jobs, and the Target will boast an average of 180 employees.
The estimated annual sales volume of the development is $60-70 million, with the Target estimated to make up $45-55 million of that.
Walker said that the response from the retail community has been “overwhelming.”
“Once it started to leak out to the real estate community people have been just constant, ‘We’d like to go there, we don't have a store on this side of town, this is where we need to be.’ So we're really excited about it,” Walker said.
Because of the complexities of the project, Springfield City Council will have numerous council bills to vote on regarding the Sunshine Towne Center at its June 26 meeting.
