THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 4, 1995 TAG: 9502040277
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Target Stores, the discount chain that competes head-on with Wal-Mart, is eyeing sites in Virginia and Maryland for its $70 million distribution center, an economic development official said Friday.
The mid-Atlantic distribution center is needed because Target, the explosive-growth subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Dayton Hudson Corp., is planning an aggressive entrance into the region.
The center would serve 130 stores to be built by decade's end, said Dale Cobb, community development director for Augusta County. But a company spokeswoman said, ``We don't know what the number will be.''
The company is still considering properties and is ``looking aggressively,'' spokeswoman Carolyn Brookter said.
Target representatives were looking at sites in Staunton, Stuarts Draft and Hagerstown, Md., for the 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center, Cobb said.
The company wants to make a decision by month's end, he added.
Cobb said that the company indicated that it wanted to build stores ``right off the bat in Richmond and Norfolk - the big cities.''
Target wants to open several stores in Hampton Roads and already has pinned down a site in a shopping center to be built in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake this year. The chain also has looked at sites in Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Target isn't the only discount chain planning to move to Hampton Roads. Hills Stores Co., based in Canton, Mass., will open five stores here. And Kmart wants to open several Super Kmarts. The ``hypermarts'' include both a large discount store and supermarket. ILLUSTRATION: Map
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