Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Yup, it's up

A new stacked store stokes Target devotees, even if the concept is a little weird at first.

By BILL VARIAN
Published August 5, 2005

TAMPA - Six-year-old Charlie Hart looked around as he approached the new Target with his mom and sister, no longer focused on the GameBoy he clutched in his hand.

"This is so weird," he said.

His sister, Maddie, 9, had her own take: "It feels like the mall."

Trust kids to come out and say what a lot of people have been thinking as they check out the new Target on N Dale Mabry Highway where the Walter Industries building once stood.

The building that houses the Target, a shopping complex called Walter's Crossing, represents something new for Tampa. It's what some developers call "stacked retail."

For those who haven't made the obligatory pilgrimage yet, the new Target is on the second floor of a two-story building. It's behind a four-story parking garage that faces Dale Mabry. Customers enter from a breezeway connecting the garage and the store entrance.

Instead of being flanked by other shops, Target will sit atop its neighbors. They will include Petsmart, Linens 'n Things, Designer Shoe Warehouse and Wild Oats Natural Grocery.

Think a two-story minimall, with outside entrances for all the stores.

Though it represents something new for Tampa, similar complexes have sprouted around the country as developers try to make use of fewer and smaller commercial lots in built-out areas.

Similar Targets exist in Miami, San Diego and Stamford, Conn.

"What drives the developer to do that is that it allows them to bring in more retailers into a space where there wasn't enough real estate available to them," said Daniel Butler, vice president of merchandising and operations for the National Retail Federation. "They find a piece of real estate they can develop in a creative way."

One recent visitor said the store reminded her of when she lived in Germany, where stacked retail is not uncommon.

"I love the design," said Paige Nicholson, 36, while shopping recently with her 7-year-old twins. "It takes up less space, and obviously South Tampa doesn't have a lot of space."

The location filled a void in Target's coverage area. Previously, central and west Tampa residents had to trek south to Gandy Boulevard or north to Fletcher Avenue.

"We often look at modifying our store layout to best fit a site that we think is really exceptional, whether it's Tampa or anywhere else," said Aimee Sands, a Target spokeswoman.

This particular hub is becoming quite the shopping mecca. There's a Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Staples across the street. Next door is Home Depot and Toys "R" Us. Bookstores, home furnishing places, restaurants, and more office supply and electronics peddlers are nearby.

And how's this for exceptional: About 235,000 cars pass the store every day, either on Dale Mabry or on Interstate 275 to the south.

"You don't have that many intersections in the state of Florida with that kind of traffic," said Ken Morin, developer of Walter's Crossing.

That traffic may get a little hairy, say, on a Sunday during Christmas season when the Bucs are playing up the street at Raymond James Stadium.

Customers for Target and its soon-to-be neighbors arrive through the same entrance as Home Depot and Toys "R" Us. They also share a traffic light with the Wal-Mart across the street.

The light was added in December to accommodate the traffic, and Tampa traffic engineers plan to install a videocamera to monitor backups.

"At this particular point in time we haven't received any complaints," said Mike Scanlon, a traffic design engineer for the city. "It is possible during peak shopping times, there could be a delay for people leaving the area."

Once making the turn into the complex, drivers have to negotiate a couple of bends to make it inside the garage. Many shoppers called the store same old Tar-zhay. That's because it is, mostly.

Contrary to word on the street, this is not a SuperTarget, with a full supermarket. It's what Target calls a new prototype, and shoppers may be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and other, regular Targets in the region.

It has an expanded grocery section, with some dairy products, more dry goods and a frozen food section, but no fresh meat or produce. The area is about 50 percent bigger than Target's typical grocery section.

There's no lawn and garden section, though Sands said that only about 300 of the 1,351 Target stores nationwide have them. It does have a Starbucks, Pizza Hut Express and pharmacy.

The layout is a little different, too. Hard goods, such as sports equipment, electronics and kitchen supplies, are generally found on the edges of the store. Soft products, like linens and clothes, are in the center. Consumable and paper goods are near the front, so people who know what they're looking for can get in and out quickly.

Regardless of the contents, what most people seemed happiest about was getting a store close to home.

"Everyone comes in here saying they're so happy there's a Target in the area," said Chad Ofiara, an executive team leader for guest services at the store.

Among early visitors have been a few members of the Bucs and Mayor Pam Iorio. Iorio was present for a ribbon-cutting during the store's soft opening July 22, and later returned to shop with her daughter and her daughter's friend.

She bought a toy for a friend's 3-year-old son, a Ninja Turtle.

"Other than that, I restrained myself," she said in an e-mail.

Iorio welcomes the new store and the 343 jobs it creates, and said she likes the design.

"I like the multilevel concept - it's new for Tampa but common in other urban environments and makes sense," Iorio wrote. "Hope to see more projects like that."

Amy Hart, 35, mother of Charlie and Maddie, hit the Target for school supplies. They emerged more than an hour later with a shopping cart full of them.

Like the mayor, Hart said they managed not to let their browsing fill the shopping cart even more.

"We pretty much stuck to our list," she said.

Bill Varian can be reached at 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com

Typical Target: about 124,000 square feet

New Dale Mabry Target: about 132,000 square feet

Target stores nationwide: 1,351

SuperTargets nationwide: 141

Targets in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco: 15

Jobs created by the new Target: 343

Cars that pass by the store daily, either on Dale Mabry or Interstate 275: 235,000.

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 08:43:14]