Photo by Nathan Kelly.
0313 Target
Target's new store on Lakeshore Drive, slated to open March 10, will include both a Pizza Hut Express and Starbucks.
Homewood’s first Target will give shoppers a fresh taste of how a 21st century retail store should look.
Customers will find that the 140,000-square-foot store will carry almost the same number of items as a Super Target.
The store’s “PFresh” model includes a grocery area with a dry to fresh produce section that will feature the top-selling items found in a Super Target. The number of aisles in the grocery section is larger than in a general Target, with extended shelves of up to 12 feet to fit more groceries.
Grocery sections in PFresh Targets differ from those in Super Targets primarily because they do not include a deli or bakery, Homewood Store Team Leader Erin Seago said.
The produce section is constructed in a U-shape with pre-weighed meats on the left, dairy to the right and a variety of fruits and vegetables in the center of the U.
The eating area for Pizza Hut Express or Starbucks will overlook the two-story glass atrium in the front of the store.
To get from the parking level to the retail space, shoppers will be able to ride one of the two elevators or the escalator up to the store. On the way back to the car, shopping carts can ride in the cart escalator, which locks carts in to secure groceries and purchased items, Seago said.
One of the new displays in PFresh Target will be its baby department. Instead of cribs and changing tables displayed on top of shelves and out of reach, they will be in the center of the department at ground level to give shoppers a complete look at Target-sold baby furniture.
New cosmetics fixtures called Transcend Beauty — the first of their kind for Targets in Birmingham — will feature LED lights built into the shelves. Each display graphic for cosmetics is compacted to show customers more options to choose for makeup.
The grand opening of PFresh Target has been in the works since $10 million was approved for the project by the Homewood City Council in September 2010.
Mayor Scott McBrayer said the store will be a great addition to the Homewood community and economy.
“Homewood is still open for business,” McBrayer said. “Target gives our community a great alternative to shop closer to home as well as bringing consumers from the Mountain Brook and Vestavia populations to Homewood.”
The traffic PFresh Target will produce has been strategically dealt with by Alabama’s best traffic engineers, according to Homewood City Council Member Fred Hawkins.
Seago said the bridges leading into Colonial Brookwood Village have been extended, and a new traffic light leading out of PFresh Target is up and operational.
“The financial impact Target will have for surrounding stores and Homewood in general is going to be great,” Hawkins said. “We’ll see an immediate impact for our schools from tax revenue and jobs Target will create.”
Seago said PFresh Target has already created 200 jobs by hiring on team members to operate the store.
Melody Salter, principal accountant for the City of Homewood, said projected sales are $40 million in the first year and $45 million for each year after. Adhering to those figures, approximately $200,000 in tax revenue will be added to the city’s general fund, and $400,000 will go to Homewood City Schools.
Target has also become involved in the Homewood community through the Exceptional Foundation, donating 3,000 bottles of water for Exceptional Foundation’s ninth-annual chili cook-off. The cook-off will be held Saturday, March 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Colonial Brookwood Village.
The grand opening for PFresh Target is March 10, but ribbon cutting festivities kick off March 5 from 5-9 p.m. The ribbon cutting ceremony will include Homewood High School’s Patriot Band playing pep rally songs and a concert by Samford University’s Jazz Band, according to Seago.
Target’s store hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The pharmacy will be open Monday through Saturday.
PFresh Target is located in the Colonial Brookwood Village at 517 Brookwood Village.
