SuperTarget again pursues Bloomington site

Target is pursuing development of a SuperTarget in Bloomington that drew strong opposition from many nearby residents when the idea first surfaced last year.

The company has filed an application for redevelopment with the city, with a hearing scheduled before the Planning Commission on July 24.

But Target will have to win over both city officials and residents, who have been concerned about traffic congestion the store could bring to the already busy intersection of Normandale Boulevard and Old Shakopee Road.

The store would occupy a 22-acre site at the southwest corner of the intersection.

A year ago, about 300 residents attended a raucous informational meeting on the proposed store, and City Council members were bombarded with e-mails that mostly opposed the development. Since then, Target has held small meetings with residents in the area and hired a public relations firm to advance the project.

City Council member Rod Axtell, who represents the ward where the new store would be built, said he's keeping an open mind on the project. So far, he said, public reaction to Target's formal application for redevelopment has been muted compared with last year.

"Anytime you have someone willing to invest this type of money into this type of area, which is a bit ... aged, it's important to go through the hearing process," he said.

Target's website says the 179,000-square-foot SuperTarget would be less than half the size of the Holiday warehouse that now occupies the site. The company says it would add green space and landscaping to the 22-acre site, would pay for "significant" road and intersection improvements, and would build the store according to environmentally friendly standards. Parking for 1,318 vehicles would be provided.

Axtell said Target has two hurdles to clear if the store is to win approval. First is getting the city to rezone a commercial-industrial area that was never intended for retail. Second is handling rush-hour traffic problems at the Normandale-Old Shakopee intersection that Axtell attributes partly to commuters trying to avoid the Hwy. 169/I-494 bottleneck.

"We really have to look forward 10 or 15 years down the road and ask if this is in the best interest of the city of Bloomington," Axtell said.

Susan Mayer, who lives in Heritage Townhomes south of the proposed redevelopment site, is working on a petition to oppose rezoning. She said she and others in the group don't want retail at the location because of the "traffic, noise and crime" it could bring.

"The traffic at that intersection is already horrendous," Mayer said. "We just want to keep our neighborhood as quiet as possible. ... Holiday was a great neighbor. We never knew they were there."

Since last year's stormy public meeting, Target has held about 10 meetings with residents who live near the proposed site, drawing a total of perhaps 100 people, said Target spokeswoman Amy Spencer. The company has created a website explaining the store plan.

"We're trying to explain our plans and educate people, and when we've completed that process, our feedback indicates they feel more informed and more positive," she said.