Target to open Midtown Memphis store

[sleepy]

http://commercialappeal.com/mca/business/a...3996930,00.html

This will be good news for Memphis urbanites, since midtown residents now have to travel a good 5 or 6 miles to a Target, etc., and there must be a good 100,000 people living in Midtown.

While it would be too much to expect a downtown Minneapolis style Target building, hopefully, Target will do something architecturally sensitive in keeping with the location. I'd settle for the absence of a store set in a sea of parking.

Home Depot opened up a Midtown location recently, but I've never seen how the building turned out.

A very slight chance the Target would go into the old Sears Tower. That would be one large Target. lol

Sears Tower:

[cheeriokid61]

Where would the parking be for a store like this?

[Rural King]

That would by WAY to cool if Target could take over the old Sears building.

[ricky_the_great]

thatd be one big target. no pun intended

[TennBear]

Sleepy,

I read the article earlier today. I was thinking that they could put several big box stores in the building and maybe convert the upper floors into condos or offices. It was good to see that they thought that it would be too expensive to tear down the old Crosstown store. There should still be a sea of parking spaces around the building. I've always thought that with the right architect that it could be a great mixed use building. As close as it is to the Medical Center, it should be able to work as a mixed center. I don't know what Traget is thinking, but at least they are not going to buy up all of Overton Square and bulldoze it.

[sleepy]

Where would the parking be for a store like this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Depends on what kind of store they build and where they build it I guess. A lot of that area would be off limits to tearing down old structures to build some suburban style big box because of historic district designations and so. But they could build a true urban type store in those areas with a parking garage, and/or rear parking. I would hope that's what they would do.

The only place where there's space for a big box with front surface parking would be on Union or Poplar Avenues and stretches of Cleveland Avenue. Even there, I would hope they'd have the store right on the street with parking in the rear.

That would by WAY to cool if Target could take over the old Sears building.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, the CA article doesn't offer much hope of that, though who knows. I just hope it doesn't sit vacant so long, they decide to tear it down. With the Memphis music business taking off again, and with a burgeoning film industry, maybe it could be turned into some sort of center for that--studios, production facilities, etc.

Redoing those old Sears buildings is a problem in a lot of cities that are wealthier than Memphis. I know Atlanta spent years getting theirs turned into a city hall annex.

Minneapolis is finally getting their Sears fixed up, although they've been working/proposing/planning, etc., since I moved up here in 1997.

Here's a pic of Sears Minneapolis. Looks familiar, huh?:

Here's what the Minneapolis Sears plan involves. Sounds great:

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/feat...ughesa_midtown/

[mandrws1]

http://commercialappeal.com/mca/business/a...3996930,00.html

This will be good news for Memphis urbanites, since midtown residents now have to travel a good 5 or 6 miles to a Target, etc., and there must be a good 100,000 people living in Midtown. 

While it would be too much to expect a downtown Minneapolis style Target building, hopefully, Target will do something architecturally sensitive in keeping with the location.  I'd settle for the absence of a store set in a sea of parking.

Home Depot opened up a Midtown location recently, but I've never seen how the building turned out.

A very slight chance the Target would go into the old Sears Tower.  That would be one large Target.  lol

Sears Tower:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Home Depot store in Midtown looks just like all the rest of them. One would think that the city would have made them adapt to the area's architecture.

[BnaBreaker]

I highly doubt this would happen, but it would be cool if they could stack different stores. For example, Target could take the first couple floors, Bed Bath & Beyond could take the next floor and then Best Buy could take the top two floors. Just an example. Big box stores in europe do this sometimes. You walk in and there is a central court yard with elevators with big store logos instead of buttons with floor numbers on them.

[sleepy]

I highly doubt this would happen, but it would be cool if they could stack different stores.  For example, Target could take the first couple floors, Bed Bath & Beyond could take the next floor and then Best Buy could take the top two floors.  Just an example.  Big box stores in europe do this sometimes.  You walk in and there is a central court yard with elevators with big store logos instead of buttons with floor numbers on them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you check out that link I posted about the Minneapolis Sears, it seems they're doing something on that order.

[it's just dave]

I'd really like to see this happen. Examples set in Minneapolis and Memphis would add some validity to the concept and other cities, including ours, hopefully, would try to emulate a successful venture. The more people who move to the core, the more likely something like this will happen. Middle areas of the urban center might be as close as the retailers are willing to go right now because the critical mass of people is more assured, but who knows, if the in-migration continues for a few years, we just might see a lot more of this. I don't see the need for mega-stores, but Express versions would be very welcome.