Targetting Selma?

I have heard the rumor that Selma may get a Target store for a while. I finally see an article in the Smithfield Herald saying it could happen. I find it amusing that the article says that what Selma has going against it is that there is a Target in White Oak in Garner. I was in White Oak just last night. That is 20 miles away. It is odd that a new Target and PetSmart were built in White Oak, when there were already stores just a few miles up the same road on Hwy 70 in Garner, which are at Timber Drive and 70. Why, then, would it be so odd to put one a full 20 miles away? Personally, I would shop at a Target a lot more if there was one local to me. Wal-Mart adds stores, and built one in Clayton while we already have one in Smithfield. Another one is coming in Clayton, as well. Go figure.

Selma could get Target

By Jordan Cooke, Staff Reporter
Selma — A developer is trying to lure retailer Target to Selma.

Frank Wood, an attorney representing AdVenture Development LLC, said Wednesday that his client had talked with Target about anchoring Eastfield Commons, a proposed mixed-use development that could encompass more than 100 acres.

"My client has been in discussions with Target," Wood said. "But they [Target] have some issues because they have another store in the area at the White Oak shopping center [in Garner]. So right now, I couldn’t really say what the odds of them coming would be."

Wood said AdVenture had talked with roughly two-dozen companies so far about locating in Eastfield Commons.

Wood said the mixed-use development could be built near the Holiday Inn Express on the westbound side of U.S. 70. A news release issued late last year by a Raleigh public relations firm said Eastfield Commons would include 750,000 square feet of retail space, a medical and professional office park, an assisted-living facility, hotels, restaurants and housing. The news release said Eastfield Commons would be "the largest single project ever built in Selma.'

Wood said AdVenture is still in the process of buying land. So far, he said, his client has purchased about 50 acres. "And we've got at least an equal amount under contract, if not more," he added.

Kevin Dougherty of AdVenture said he was confident Selma would be ready for a project of Eastfield’s size. "We chose this site because it is an ideal location," he said in the news release. "With its central location, Eastfield Commons will draw people from as far away as 100 miles. We see this development as a core asset for Eastern North Carolina."

Wood said AdVenture might break ground on Eastfield Commons within the next two or three months. He said the project could take seven to 10 years to complete.

"If they can pull it off, this could be really great for Selma," Wood said.