I collected different bits and quotes from all over the place on urban targets and home depots. It sounds like the project at the bottom of the post in Raleigh is going to be awesome. I would like to see the Midtown project turn into somthing like Raleigh's North Hill's Mall Project.
"Target's fall opening schedule was less than typical as the chain opened two-story, subterranean and urban stores and unveiled its newest prototype, one that represents the company's look leading into 2004."
Minneapolis
To the Target Corporation it's merely store number T-13-75. But with a three-story glass entrance and a tony brick facade, it barely resembles its big, boxy suburban cousins. The opening is seen as the return of mid-priced retail in downtown.
The Store
Chicago
Target's two-level, 160,000-square-foot store will have a brick exterior, atrium with a north-facing view, Starbucks coffee shop and "Food Avenue Express," where people can grab fast food like pizza, sandwiches, soup and ice cream, said Joan Ahrens, spokeswoman for Target's Chicago region.
"The mostly brick exterior design was chosen to complement the local architecture and landscape," Ahrens said. "The atrium gives the store a distinct feature."
The store will have a parking garage with 400 spaces, and a portion of the parking deck will run under the store, with the remainder directly north.
Part of the roof will be "green," an initiative touted by Mayor Daley with turf-like grass on the roof to absorb heat, save energy and reduce air pollution.
A Chicago Home Depot (could an Expo design center look like this?)
Raliegh
The most radical is the proposed makeover of North Hills Mall, where developer John Kane will tuck a Target underneath a cinema and a "main street" plaza lined with stores and offices.
RALEIGH -- John Kane's vision for the redeveloped North Hills never has been an easy one to convey.
He had elaborate models to show tenants. And there were drawings to show the neighbors. But neither was the perfect tool to adequately show the community what was coming, mostly because what he envisioned had never been built in the Triangle.
But in the past few weeks, as the new North Hills started taking its real shape, going from steel beams to actual walls, windows and rooftops, people are finally starting to get it.
"I've watched and wondered for months," said Jennifer Bass, 32, of Raleigh, who's a regular at J.C. Penney, which has stayed open throughout the demolition of North Hills Mall and redevelopment of the new North Hills. "I really didn't know what to expect. But I really didn't expect to see what I've been seeing."
In place of the big, boxy mall, which was one of the first to open in the state in 1967, Kane is building the first mixed-use project of its kind in the area, stacking a 14-screen movie theater on top of a Target, and surrounding them with boutiques, restaurants, offices, a condominium building and a hotel.
Kane said the complex will be pedestrian-friendly, with a fountain near the main entrance off Six Forks Road, and plenty of places to stroll after a meal or benches to sit on to wait for a movie to start.
So far, 35 tenants have signed on, and about 83 percent of the available 730,000 square feet of retail and office space is committed, said Kane, of Kane Realty, the Raleigh-based company that is redeveloping North Hills.
Two of the biggest tenant deals came in the past few weeks. Kane was able to snag the area's first Marriott Renaissance Hotel and lure Jolly's Jewelers & Silversmiths from its longtime home in Cameron Village.
Kane said by having the 240-room hotel, which will start construction in the fall and be completed by late 2005, North Hills will be more attractive to potential office tenants, who want a hotel nearby for visiting clients. So far, the Class A office space is attracting smaller professional groups, including law firms, insurance companies and architectural groups, Kane said.
"The hotel is just one more amenity to the site," he said.
More tenant names should be out soon. Kane just returned from a shopping center convention in Las Vegas, meeting with more retailers and restaurants. Kane said he specifically saved some key spaces for tenants that might have passed on the project early on, either because they didn't understand Kane's vision or weren't sure about the market's demographics.
The tenant list so far is heavy on restaurants and a mix of local and national retailers, such as the wine superstore Total Wines & More, Ben & Jerry's, Frances T. King Stationery and Highsmith Home.
There are familiar names coming to North Hills, too, including Durham restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias, who will open a second Verde Cafe at North Hills, Scout & Molly's, a women's clothing store with a location in Falls Village in Raleigh, and Von Kekel, a salon with a location in Cary.
The project also will has some exclusive tenants. Johnny Rockets, known for its burgers and shakes served in a retro decor, and Mama Fu's, an Atlanta-based Asian noodle chain, both picked North Hills for their first Triangle locations.
The biggest draw, however, likely will be Target, which will open Oct. 10.
Most of the restaurants and stores will open by Nov. 15, in time for holiday shopping. The movie theater and new Gold's Gym likely will open in November.
Most retailers have been drawn to the site because its location has a broad reach.
"To me, that area is the bridge between customers inside the Beltline and North Raleigh," said Fiquet Bailey, the owner of the apothecary Luxe, who was among the first retailers to sign on to North Hills at the Lassiter at North Hills across from the mall. "Location was a huge factor for me."
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