Target Free ATC: Mission Accomplished

Residents of the Willows rejoice!  Big Bad Target has gone away, never to haunt the hallowed asphalt of Alameda Towne Centre again.  But are they gone for good?  According to SDR and to borrow a phrase from Whitney Houston, “hell to the no.”   Turns out they were also the culprits behind the poll asking Alamedans what they thought about Target and whether they wanted a Target in Alameda.   The resounding answer that they heard from their survey gave Target a big thumbs up, and if you think about the demographics behind a typical phone poll, well the results are surprising given what we have been beaten over the head with.

So, what does this mean for the big bullseye, well after listening to about 3 hours of Planning Board discussion and watching the presentation for Alameda Landing, it’s pretty clear that Catellus is probably going to be rewooing or has already wooed Target to fill one of the “large format” slots for Alameda Landing.  Reflecting back, it seems that Harsch was pretty meh about Target coming in, according to this article the head of the company was very neutral about Target in general:

But while the head of the company that owns the Towne Centre would love to see the Target added, he said he wouldn’t sweat it too much if it doesn’t work out.

“This is a long-term development for us,” said Jordan Schnitzer, president of the Portland-based Harsch Investment Properties, which has owned the South Shore shopping center since the late 1970s. “We want it to be done right. Target would be a wonderful addition here … but there are other options.”

Let’s hope that the “other options” include something a little more creative than yet another grocery store or discount clothing retailer.  My last visit to ATC included a pop-in to the Old Navy and a walk through the main mall-y area.  I have to say that the changes are a complete 180 to what was there, but the lack of tenants to fill the “boutique” shops is distressing.  Maybe the businesses are waiting until more of the anchor stores are complete before coming in like Bed Bath and Beyond (one of my particular favorites, and was recognized as a “Blue” company by the now defunct BuyBlue.org). 

But back to Alameda Landing, for one, they have a new shiny website, but this one, while much more user friendly, is still as uninformative as the old one.  I was hoping to find the power point slides they presented at the Planning Board meeting, because heck if I could make out anything on that tiny screen.   Add to that the terrible sound quality — can ANYONE fix the microphone for the public speakers, half of the time they are so loud it distorts anything anyone has to say.   I got the “yesterday and today” theme that runs through the project, but I guess I would like the benefit of seeing the pretty pictures as well to make a final judgment. 

One of the things that I like is the constant efforts to reuse materials and be more environmentally friendly.  According to the presentation they are going to be reusing timber and steel reclaimed from the old buildings and incorporating it into the facades of the buildings.  I like the idea of the water towers which recapture a historic feel but also (I believe) will be capturing rainwater to reuse.   I also like the idea of  graphic elements on the building to relieve the montony that tends to be a part of the “large format” buildings. 

But more importantly, which of these “large format” buildings do you think will be the future home of Target?

I assume they would want the biggest building that is available, but I can’t really tell by the little boxes which is the biggest.