Target Corp. has sought to expand its U.S. footprint in recent years by rolling out more small-store formats in the form of its Express and CityTarget locations. And its next targeted local site is a spot on the University of California San Diego campus, where it could eventually backfill the space currently occupied by the campus bookstore, once the bookstore relocates to a new campus building as planned.
Representatives for the university and retailer confirmed that preliminary talks for such an arrangement are underway, and Target representatives held an open house with students and staff on the UC San Diego main campus in La Jolla on Feb. 21.
"We’re continuously exploring possible locations for future stores around the country as we focus on opening small-format stores near college campuses and in dense suburban neighborhoods and urban areas,” said Target spokeswoman Jacqueline DeBuse, in a statement sent to CoStar News.
"We were excited to meet with the UC San Diego community earlier this week as we explore potential small-format store opportunities in the area. However, we have no news to share about San Diego at this time."
Minneapolis-based Target opened a small-format Express store in San Diego’s South Park neighborhood in 2015, and more recently signed a lease for a 35,000-square-foot space at 3029 University Ave. in North Park. According to Target’s website, the North Park store will open this fall and include an in-store CVS Pharmacy.
Target has 28 stores slated to open nationwide during 2018, and all but one are small-format locations.
Target rolled out its Express store format in 2014. The smaller stores are about 15% of the size of a general-merchandise Target, which can span 125,000 to 175,000 square feet. The first Target Express opened near University of Minnesota, and the retailer has since opened several more near other schools, including UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and University of Southern California.
Target's other small-store format, CityTarget, is geared toward core urban neighborhoods in large cities. It was rolled out in 2012 and consists of stores spanning 50,000 to 80,000 square feet.
Minutes from a November 2017 student council meeting indicate that Target officials contacted the UCSD Retail Council in the fall. Talks at that time discussed the possibility of Target initially opening on the second floor of the current bookstore, located in the university’s Price Center student union facility.
The bookstore currently occupies about half of the four-floor Price Center, which spans a total of 430,000 square feet.
According to the student council minutes, the university is considering eventually moving the bookstore to a new location in an upcoming new campus building called Triton Pavilion, and giving Target the option of taking over the current bookstore space in the Price Center. The new campus Target could also have its own CVS and Starbucks.
UC San Diego has previously completed arrangements with at least one other major retailer for new amenities at the campus bookstore. Campus officials reported in 2016 that the university was the first higher education institution in the San Diego region to get an Amazon store, featuring delivery lockers and package shipping services.