Target announced their first store in Vermont will be opening in October, 2018 at the University Mall on Dorset Street in South Burlington. Their new store will replace Bon-Ton, a department store, which decided to close after their lease expires on January 31st.
Customer’s are thrilled says Heather Tremblay, University Mall manager. “It will bring a lot more foot traffic, and when that happens people are bound to come into the mall,” says Tremblay, adding their will be an entrance to Target through the mall.
In 2012, Target was conducting an informal discussion with the local Planning Commission in regards to opening a store in Williston. “They basically wanted to build this 136,000 square foot box, with a big sea of parking,” said Kevin Belliveau, Planning Director of the Williston Planning Commission.
Belliveau explained how at the time, Target was resistant to building a smaller store and subsequently decided not to continue to pursue the location. The new Target in South Burlington will only be 60,000 square feet. “The nature of how companies are viewing retail trade and how their willing to build their stores has shifted,” said Belliveau, acknowledging how this is a result of e-commerce. Had they submitted the small-format design, Belliveau said Target would have had a much better chance at securing a location in Williston.