SuperTarget is latest to join cluster of Woodbury retailing

After soldiering through years of preparation, a minor detour and an epic national financial collapse, planners of Woodbury's SuperTarget will see the store officially open next Sunday after seven months of construction.

The 177,000-square-foot store, the centerpiece of a 40-acre development called Commerce Hill located off Woodbury Drive south of Interstate 94, will employ about 300 people. Commerce Hill will eventually include a cluster of retail stores, restaurants and offices. CorTrust Bank, based in Mitchell, S.D., has already committed to the site.

The store will feature a full-line supermarket, including an in-store bakery, deli and certified organic produce. A Target Pharmacy, Target Optical, Starbucks, Pizza Hut Express and Taco Bell Express will be part of the one-stop shopping marketing goal.

The SuperTarget is also located directly across Commerce Drive from a Sam's Club, less than half a mile from a Wal-Mart, less than 3 miles from a recently remodeled "PFresh" Target store in Woodbury and about 4 miles from a Kmart store in Oakdale.

On top of that, a Costco store has been penciled in about 1 1/2 miles away at the site of the former State Farm Insurance Co. campus in Woodbury that has been targeted for redevelopment.

That would make five major discount retailers in less than a 4-mile radius from the new store.

Is there enough consumer demand in this new frugal economy to ensure their survival?

Whether a general merchandise Target or a SuperTarget model, decisions on where to locate are based on "anticipated sales volume, site constraints and the specific needs of a community," said Antoine LaFromboise, Target spokesman. The decision is supported by heavy demographic research.

The concentration of retailers is typical in prime trade areas, said Dave Brennan, co-director of the Institute for Retailing Excellence at the University of St. Thomas.

"This is not unusual," Brennan said. "If you were to go to the Blaine-Fridley area, you'd find a PFresh across from a Wal-Mart, and just down the street is a Sam's Club."

Though a lot of merchandise on the shelves is similar, there are key differences in what the stores offer, how they sell it and what their niche audiences are, he said.

Sam's Club, for example, is aiming to draw more small business owners and recently even launched a business loan program. Wal-Mart aims for broader appeal and highlighting groceries, while Target competes for more upscale audiences and emphasizes home furnishings.

The Commerce Hill project had some fitful starts. In the summer of 2008, the developer's plan was rejected because it hadn't met the city's standards for storm-water management funding, road improvements, parking conditions and other factors. A revised plan won the City Council's backing and ground was broken last March.

Along with the Commerce Hill and State Farm campus projects, there are other signs that development in Woodbury is regaining its footing:

• The City Council on Wednesday approved plans to add 65 single-family housing units in the Stonemill Farms development in the eastern part of the city, along with a 23-unit addition in the adjacent Ridgestone development.

• Planning continues for the Phase 2 growth plan that is projected to add 600 housing units a year for 10 years in the southern part of the city. The plans include developing an "Urban Village" -- an area of retail shops and service businesses -- southwest of the intersection of Radio Drive and Bailey Road.

• An industrial and retail complex near the junction of I-94 and Manning Avenue is poised for development.