March 23, 2008

The following would make me soo happy. I LOVE Target!

Courtesy of Gulf Breeze News
By Franklin Hayes

At a Navarre Area Board of Realtors' meeting last week, County Commissioner Gordon Goodin said he is privy to information that few else have heard. Goodin says Target, the Minneapolis, Minn. based retailer, will be opening a store in Navarre next to Publix and not in Gulf Breeze, as previously reported.

"The one [proposed] on Blue Angel Parkway [in Pensacola] is a reality," Goodin said. "With the one in Navarre, they're probably looking at late 2009."

As for the Tiger Point site, Goodin says,

"There's a developer and there will be a development there, but Target's not going to be a part of it."

Goodin says he's had discussions with a developer, whom he did not name, about what the county could do to accommodate the retailer.

"The financial model says it's not feasible for them to build it in 2008 so the current plan, and plans change all the time, but the current plan is to build in 2009."

Anna Goeppinger, a spokesperson for Target said their corporate officers look for an area with a population of at least 100,000 to support their stores.

When asked about the Northwest Florida area, Goeppinger said, "There are no plans [right now], however, we remain generally interested in the market."

Goeppinger added that company experts also look at how transportation is set up in the area and how their store would fit into the community's unique culture.

As for the proposed Target in Navarre, don't look for concrete proof anytime soon.

"Development orders are only good for a year, so it's really premature for them to turn anything in right now," Goodin said.