Plans for a new Target store at San Francisco’s Metreon complex are moving forward.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today that all permits have been approved for the city’s first Target store, which is set to begin construction in January and open in 2012.
The store, which will be located in the Westfield Metreon Center at the intersection of Fourth and Mission streets, will give a boost to the local economy, Newsom said in a statement.
“The Metreon is the perfect place for a new, urban-centered Target that will bring jobs, smart development and an exciting and unique retail destination,” he said.
The Metreon, which opened in 1999, already has a popular movie theater chain at the four-story building, but “has underperformed over time,” said Fred Blackwell, executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, in a report to the agency’s commissioners in November.
“Many of Metreon’s other attractions…have struggled, and the complex now has significant vacancies,” Blackwell said.
The redevelopment agency commission unanimously approved the Metreon Target project at a Nov. 16 meeting, and with the announcement of the project’s final approval today, construction can commence next month.
“With all the permits issued, Westfield and Target can move forward immediately toward repositioning the Metreon as a lively retail and entertainment center,” Blackwell said.
The 85,000-square-foot Target store will be built on the second floor of the building, while the Metreon food court will expand from 110 to 470 seats, and a new dining terrace will be built overlooking Yerba Buena Gardens.
Westfield is self-financing the project by investing $30 million in the changes. The project is expected to generate 775 construction jobs and up to 300 permanent jobs once the changes are finished in mid-2012, according to the mayor’s office.
Target, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based company, estimates the new store will generate $120,000 in annual payroll taxes, a minimum of $5.4 million in annual sales taxes, and about $1 million in increased parking revenue for nearby garages.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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