There’s no construction-start date yet, nor when the new Target will open, but at least the paperwork for the renovation of Zellers has been filed with the District of Maple Ridge.
“That’s a good thing,” Mayor Ernie Daykin said.
“I don’t know what the timing will be.”
Zellers in Haney Place Mall is one of the 189 Zellers that Target acquired last year as part of its northward expansion. The American retail giant will be converting about 125 of those locations across the country into Targets.
When that was first announced in 2011, Daykin sent Target a letter and a promotional package for Maple Ridge, slipping in that he’s a huge Minnesota Vikings fan.
Target wants to renovate the inside and outside of the aging Zellers location, as well as expand the west end of the store and put a new entrance on that side, facing 224th Street.
The store is currently about 85,000 sq. feet, making it smaller than the usual Targets in the U.S., which are about 135,000 sq. feet.
Adding a two-storey expansion of about 26,455 sq. feet would result in a total space of 111,000 sq. feet.
Interior renovations are part of the project, while the outside will get new materials and colours, as well as the Target logo. However, most of the exterior walls seem to retain the existing brick exterior.
The parking lot in the west end of the mall is largely unchanged in the plans, although some new landscaped islands and grocery cart corrals will be added.
The project will qualify for Maple Ridge’s downtown incentive program that gives tax and fee reductions to spark development.
Council will review the development application, although the mayor didn’t know when it will arrive at council. However, as a downtown project, it will get priority processing, he added.
“It will be a brand new shopping experience for Maple Ridge folks,” said Daykin.
He pointed out that in the citizen surveys done every three years, lack of shopping was one the things people least liked about Maple Ridge.
In 2003, that number stood at 11 per cent, and by 2012, that had climbed to 51 per cent.
Target store headquarters hasn’t confirmed renovation locations and will only do that once Zellers employees have been told.
Zellers hasn’t received notice of store closure from Target, said Zellers spokesman Tiffany Bourré.
Usually, Zellers gets six to nine months notice, she added.
“I just don’t see that we’ve received notice of closure.”
The Langley Zellers is closing Oct. 15 for conversion to Target, while Coquitlam’s closes Nov. 12.
Target will spend between $10 million to $11 million renovating each store. Each new Target location will employ between 150 and 200.
However, Zellers pharmacy business is being taken over by Overwaitea Food Group, which will see a gradual transition of customers to its pharmacies nearby in its Save-On Foods, PriceSmart Foods and Cooper Foods.
Zellers is holding on to some of its stores in B.C. Those include stores in White Rock, Trail, Williams Lake, Port Alberni, Kelowna and Smithers.
Meanwhile, the exterior renovations of Haney Place Mall’s south side are going well, said Chris Sherry, with Narland Properties.
Thrifty Foods is expected to open its store at the east side of the mall in the next few months, said Erin Kelly.
“We looking forward to opening this summer. Everything is on schedule.”
She said people are looking forward to Thrifty’s arrival and there’s lots of inquiries about employment.
“Many, many, many” people asking about jobs, she said. “They e-mail almost every day.”
