A new design scheme for the Target slated for the West Loop attempts to amplify pedestrian features along the store’s Jackson side.

In renderings that Target representatives shopped around to small gatherings of West Loop community and small business organizations last week, the Jackson frontage now includes a small plaza area set back from the Jackson and Aberdeen intersection. Immediately adjacent is a larger entryway that makes more use of glass. The size of a red canopy overhanging the entrance has been increased.

On the western end of Jackson, between a curb cut allowing vehicular access to the store’s ground-level parking deck and Racine, Target’s designers added additional landscaping and a series of columns between the building and sidewalk, as well as a new canopy.

Target purchased the vacant, nearly four-acre site between Jackson, Van Buren, Aberdeen and an alley, in early July for more than $9.3 million. A previous developer’s ambitious plans for hundreds of new condominiums and retail space at the property withered as the economy and housing market began its tumble in 2008.

Questions about the contours of the big box store’s design were raised repeatedly at a community meeting Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) hosted about the project in late June, with more than a few West Loop residents expressing dismay at initial plans showcased that evening.

In spite of the new exterior changes, the basic layout of the West Loop store remains the same: a two-story structure, with parking (approximately 385 stalls) on the first level and shopping above.

Target representatives have said the forthcoming West Loop store is comparable to outlets the retailer operates in Oak Lawn and on Peterson Avenue on the Far North Side.

Forrest Russell, a development manager for the firm, told residents gathered by an organization called Near West Neighbors last week that urban Target stores are built to fit available parcels. In the South Loop, for example, that meant a stacked store at Roosevelt and Clark.

The West Loop parcel now controlled by Target, Russell argued, is “ready made” for the split-level style

“When we go into inner-city Chicago, we can’t get 10-acre sites. We’ve got to take what we can get and figure out how to make it work in the most efficient manner for Target,” Russell said.

At the Near West Neighbors gathering, West Loop resident Jason Ziemba said the store’s layout struck him as still essentially suburban in nature, out of character with the West Loop’s built environment

“I like the designs but it reminds me of the suburbs,” he said.

“We are a big box,” Russell said, in response. “I’ll admit that.”

Armando Chacon, who convened the Near West meeting, said in an interview later Target’s new plans were improved from the first round. The mixture of steel and glass on the Jackson said, Chacon said, reminded him of some of the West Loop’s existing condominium buildings.

Before the West Central Association, a number of the questions focused on keeping the new store secure and hiring locally.

The West Loop Community Organization’s development committee also considered the changes.

Eric Sedler, a board member of the organization, did not attend that session but wrote in an e-mail that new designs were “generally very well received” by the development committee.

Attempts to reach the head of that committee were unsuccessful as of Chicago Journal’s Wednesday deadline.

“The next step will be for Target to participate in another community meeting to show the final design,” Sedler wrote in his e-mail.

At their presentations, Target representatives said the store could intermingle brick finishes with either metal paneling or a stucco material.

Danielle Cassel, Target’s zoning attorney, said the firm must secure a zoning change before building. Construction could start next spring or summer, with a store opening eyed for October 2012.

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By carole from west loop
Posted: 11/15/2011 5:35 PM

Come on people. We need more businesses in the area which will draw more people.. More people means more small businesses should come to the west loop. It's about time. The new design looks fine but I do agree a sculpture or fountain would be a nice addition.

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By Bob from Near West Side
Posted: 08/18/2010 10:23 AM

Any images of the Aberdeen St and Van Buren St facades? They were appalling, also: long (400-440 feet) brown walls with some architecture stuck on them.

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By A from West Loop
Posted: 08/16/2010 10:45 AM

Improved design. How about adding a fountain and/or a locally designed sculpture near the main entrance?

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By Lisa
Posted: 08/12/2010 12:01 PM

The new design looks much better, the first one was appalling. I'm proud of my fellow West Loopers for staying strong and demanding a better design.