When I was a kid, my dad always seemed to be in the middle of a renovation project. We’d go on frequent excursions to Sears and The Crafty Beaver Lumber Store just east of Lincoln Square to pick up a specific saw, bolt or cut of wood. I flashback to those projects, like the picket fence he built around our house, every time I smell lumber.

I don’t take on many major renovations myself — I only own pliers because I was enchanted by the wrapping paper that masked them at the holiday grab bag — but I still like to make trips to the home improvement department at Target. I can spend hours imagining projects that will never materialize, and then head to the checkout with a random variety of items only available at a super store. A bag of pretzels. A sun dress. A camping tent. A birthday card.

Right now, it is an enjoyable walk, convenient bus trip, or short drive to the closest Target store to the West Loop, on Roosevelt Road. But I still think a Target in the West Loop would serve a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The company, as many have read in the Journal, says it wants to build a store at the Fannie May property, which starts at Jackson and Aberdeen.

I agree with those who believe additional retail capacity is needed to meet the needs of Near South and Near West side residents. At the beginning of each UIC school year, for example, the shelves at the South Loop Target are nearly bare. Employees can’t restock them fast enough, and items like cleaning supplies are actually sold out.

If Target is interested in building atop the old Fannie Mae property, I imagine that means market research has proven what most of us feel we already knew — that there is a need for additional retail in our area.

Is the Target at Fannie May perfect? I’d argue no. I had hoped the site would include a group of specialty shops coupled with a grocery or home goods store rather than a super mart. And there is no doubt that a Sundance Theater, as a development team had previously pitched for the site, would have been a more unique and welcomed amenity.

Getting small businesses to open in the neighborhood — in the city as a whole — is a worthy endeavor. For one thing, the small business owners I know in the West Loop invest in both their shops and the community in different, more personal ways than retail behemoths do. But the large retailers seem most willing and able to expand right now.

The backdrop here is Walmart’s plans for Chicago. Walmart indicated its desire to open stores throughout the city after its recent zoning victory in city council. (The council voted unanimously to let the big box retailer build its second Chicago store on the South Side.)

In this light, I think getting a Target store makes us clear winners. Target has better home and fashion merchandising, so it truly can be a one-stop-shop. Lest your main driver be pricing, Target has a promise to match any print-advertised price on an identical product featured by a local competitor, including Walmart.

My friends without cars point to another benefit a more local Target will bring — the positive environmental impact of a more walkable retail option.

I’m sure each of us has our own idea of what the perfect use of the Fannie May property would be, and there may have been better ideas for its development.

But the economy of the past several years has reset many of the best-laid plans, and Target seems on its way. What’s most important for the neighborhood now is ensuring the best store possible — in terms of freight delivery, building materials and parking.