51 replies to this topic

[hgupta]

CA reports that Target has finally found a suitable location in Midtown.

Those of you outside midtown probably don't realize how badly most midtown and downtown residents have wanted this to happen.    Target was one of the few shopping excursions that I regularly made out of midtown.  Downtowners without cars would be able to take the trolley almost all the way to it.


Hopefully this will also help revitalize the area around cleveland and Jefferson.  


I'll stilll end up going out to the target on Colonial.  That Target/ William Sonoma outlet/ Levenger outlet combo is a hard to beat for xmas shopping.

[Rardy]

hgupta, on Dec 8 2006, 12:51 AM, said:

CA reports that Target has finally found a suitable location in Midtown.

Those of you outside midtown probably don't realize how badly most midtown and downtown residents have wanted this to happen.    Target was one of the few shopping excursions that I regularly made out of midtown.  Downtowners without cars would be able to take the trolley almost all the way to it.
Hopefully this will also help revitalize the area around cleveland and Jefferson.  
I'll stilll end up going out to the target on Colonial.  That Target/ William Sonoma outlet/ Levenger outlet combo is a hard to beat for xmas shopping.

I don't know...if Target builds in Midtown and in East Memphis, that Colonial store will disappear.  

This is the map of where the CA says the Target will be in Midtown.  Is N. Watkins the same as Watkins?  The paper says "near" the intersection of Poplar and Watkins...

[idlewild]

I'm so excited about a Midtown Target, although I would have liked to see it built at Overton Square, but I'm very happy about this!!!!!

[hgupta]

Rardy, on Dec 8 2006, 10:22 AM, said:

I don't know...if Target builds in Midtown and in East Memphis, that Colonial store will disappear.  

This is the map of where the CA says the Target will be in Midtown.  Is N. Watkins the same as Watkins?  The paper says "near" the intersection of Poplar and Watkins...

I'm guessing that the one at Ridgeway trace would be least likely to happen... its too close to their other store on Colonial.

[Rardy]

hgupta, on Dec 8 2006, 09:27 AM, said:

I'm guessing that the one at Ridgeway trace would be least likely to happen... its too close to their other store on Colonial.

Mmm...I think Ridgeway's practically a definite.  That one's gonna be a SuperTarget and that'll do very well in East Memphis.  The closest super is in Cordova and that's a haul.

[hgupta]

hgupta, on Dec 8 2006, 10:27 AM, said:

I'm guessing that the one at Ridgeway trace would be least likely to happen... its too close to their other store on Colonial.

Here's the map from the commercial appeal:

[crossroad]

There was a lot of debate when Target entered the Montgomery Plaza area in Ft Worth, just at the verge of Downtwon.  Questions were raised about the impact of building a stripmall-like one-storied super Target there in terms of the surrounding impact on building density in the urban core of a city.  Suggestions included building a Two-storied Target + parking garage but it wasn't agreed upon due to cost and other reasons ...

Wondering what this one looks like in Midtown Mphs?

http://www.fortworth...p?showtopic=298

Edited by crossroad, 08 December 2006 - 09:35 AM.

[Rardy]

crossroad, on Dec 8 2006, 09:33 AM, said:

There was a lot of debate when Target entered the Montgomery Plaza area in Ft Worth, just at the verge of Downtwon.  Questions were raised about the impact of building a stripmall-like one-storied super Target there in terms of the surrounding impact on building density in the urban core of a city.  Suggestions included building a Two-storied Target + parking garage but it wasn't agreed upon due to cost and other reasons ...

Wondering what this one looks like in Midtown Mphs?

http://www.fortworth...p?showtopic=298

They've allowed the usual design of stores in the past - a new Home Depot a couple blocks away looks suburban.  I think putting any unnecessary restrictions on them will prevent the project altogether.  This area desperately needs retail.

Honestly a 2-story Target with a parking garage would be great, but that would be overkill IMO.  Maybe in the Medical District, downtown, Uptown, or even on Union, but that wouldn't be necessary where they plan to build.

Oooo...2-story SuperTarget with parking garage on Poplar @ 240?  Thaaaat would be nice!

[Fellowmann20]

This Target will really make Midtown a more liveable area.    Meaning you don't have to go out of it to get your groceries or other items.

[idlewild]

agreed fellowmann20, i hope this also revitalizes the area surrounding it.

[crossroad]

Rardy, on Dec 8 2006, 09:39 AM, said:

They've allowed the usual design of stores in the past - a new Home Depot a couple blocks away looks suburban.  I think putting any unnecessary restrictions on them will prevent the project altogether.  This area desperately needs retail.

Honestly a 2-story Target with a parking garage would be great, but that would be overkill IMO.  Maybe in the Medical District, downtown, Uptown, or even on Union, but that wouldn't be necessary where they plan to build.

Oooo...2-story SuperTarget with parking garage on Poplar @ 240?  Thaaaat would be nice!

Dont' get me wrong: i was not proposing that Midtown Target SHOULD have a parking garage or even be two-storied!  I have never even been to that area.    I was just quoting a precedent case that happened somewhere else that raised concerns in urban planning.

Same here: I’d rather see something go up rather than nothing. If a project is proposed, then THIS is the place to discuss it, the good, bad and the ugly, are equally welcome here.

I’d like to see that Midtown developers and their staff engage in some active research as to what is best for that area.  This Poplar location is close to Downtown and aren't we trying to foster a more dense and pedestrian-friendly urban area?  Didn't people complain that nowhere else but the cooper young intersection in midtown looks urban?  What are the options?  They should Not just look at what is RIGHT NOW urgently needed.  Because once a building/complex is built, it defines that area for MANY YEARS to come.  

"Planning is as natural to the process of success as its absence is to the process of failure." ~ Robin Sieger

It's good to be here.

Edited by crossroad, 08 December 2006 - 12:04 PM.

[idlewild]

I agree crossroad.......i would like to see this be a more urban looking target with a parking garage.

[gatesofmemphis]

I'm glad that hgupta included the diagram from the CA.  I had just read the online edition and was worried that they'd try to knock down the 2 story houses that fronted Poplar near Watkins.  Thank God.  

I'd like to see a design that adds value to the neighborhood.  I don't think that a proto-suburban 1-story warehouse surrounded by asphalt design will add value, and could actually subtract.  You could easily lose mature trees in that design, not to mention the extra heat coming off the tarmac.  (In fact, I was so sickened by the without-mercy and without-cause clear cutting that Lowes did on their Sam Cooper store lot that I won't shop there anymore).

I believe the location is at the cusp of the new zoning overlay for the Medical Center and should honor that, even if it doesn't have to.  

The vision of downtowners and meds taking the trolley to Cleveland to shop is very compelling, but it destroys the experience if you make the trek to go into an oversized convenience store.  

So, it's a great idea if they build for their and the neighborhood's value (because a quality architectural product will help regenerate their neighborhood, which has to be good business for their land value and sales).  But if it's just another sea of asphalt, I'll just use the internet.

[Rardy]

gatesofmemphis, on Dec 8 2006, 10:21 PM, said:

I'm glad that hgupta included the diagram from the CA.  I had just read the online edition and was worried that they'd try to knock down the 2 story houses that fronted Poplar near Watkins.  Thank God.  

I'd like to see a design that adds value to the neighborhood.  I don't think that a proto-suburban 1-story warehouse surrounded by asphalt design will add value, and could actually subtract.  You could easily lose mature trees in that design, not to mention the extra heat coming off the tarmac.  (In fact, I was so sickened by the without-mercy and without-cause clear cutting that Lowes did on their Sam Cooper store lot that I won't shop there anymore).

I believe the location is at the cusp of the new zoning overlay for the Medical Center and should honor that, even if it doesn't have to.  

The vision of downtowners and meds taking the trolley to Cleveland to shop is very compelling, but it destroys the experience if you make the trek to go into an oversized convenience store.  

So, it's a great idea if they build for their and the neighborhood's value (because a quality architectural product will help regenerate their neighborhood, which has to be good business for their land value and sales).  But if it's just another sea of asphalt, I'll just use the internet.

I completely agree.

But we have to consider the other side of this, and that is the neighborhood is blighted and is sliding downward.  Stonewall is a glimmer of hope, but beyond that...  Not to make Target out to be the savior, but in this case something - anything - might really be better than nothing.  IMO, the same was true for Lowe's.  Summer's been in a serious decline for a very long time.  We can't always get best-case scenario.  In fact, sometimes, we're lucky to have a scenario at all.

[tennreb]

I was hoping Target would be part of the redevelopment of Dixie Homes, similar to the Wal-Mart in the St. Thomas redevelopment in New Orleans.  However, I'll take what I can get.  Is this going to be a SuperTarget?  If it is, they'll make a fortune.  Schnucks will have to get their act together.

[idlewild]

i hope it's a Super Target, and I couldn't agree more about Schnucks...maybe this Target will put them out of business in Midtown.

[Rardy]

how would a 2-story SuperTarget work?  like, how do you get your shopping cart from the first floor to the second floor?  really large elevator?  really flat escalator?  

i've never been in a 2-story Target, though I used to pass one regularly in Metairie, LA.  shoulda gone in, i guess.

[idlewild]

There are lifts that take your basket from the first floor to the second. It is a pretty cool device.

[Clobber]

Man, we really need a locally-based grocer.

[James Owen]

Clobber, on Dec 11 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

Man, we really need a locally-based grocer.

There's still Piggly Wiggly, however the popularity of the supermarket chain has died over the past several years, so we're stuck with outsourced chains. I do miss the Seesel's name, though.