Target- Fairview Heights and Belleville Crossing

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 26, 2007#12007-09-26T22:05+00:00

So, there is a Target coming to town in Fairview Heights...strangely only about 5 minutes to the next Target...

It doesn't seem like a very logical place to put a Target, only because of its close proximity to the one in Shiloh.

Does Target just do so much business in the metro that they can afford it? That would totally make sense because I know Target is a popular store, just doesn't seem very economical for them.

my understanding is that they closed down an old location to open the current location they have open, so it wouldn't make much sense if they were building another one to close down the current one.

little egyptian · PostSep 27, 2007#22007-09-27T00:55+00:00

I do not think the current Target location is all that good. I forget it is there a lot and when I drive by I am always sort of surprised it is there. I have been in a few times and it is nothing special. With an improved location, I do think they could do better business. I guess that is the plan.

threeonefour · PostSep 27, 2007#32007-09-27T02:17+00:00

Frankly I think Target had the best location of all before they built the new store in Shiloh- they were on Lincoln Trail less than a half-mile west of St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights.

I guess the opening of a second store is Target's way of splitting the difference and meeting the needs of a growing eastern St. Clair County. Now that it's a longer drive for some people in the Belleville-Swansea area to get to Target in Shiloh, they'll have a new location closer to home. OTOH, the relatively new Shiloh store is better positioned to serve the growing communities of Shiloh, O'Fallon, and Mascoutah.

So to me, it seems like a win-win for this part of the Metro East and Target alike.

tm8951 · PostSep 27, 2007#42007-09-27T04:14+00:00

This is my first post and I felt I had to chime in. I'm suprised no one has stated that there will be three not two but three Target stores within 3 miles of each other in the metro-east. One in Shiloh off of Frank Scott, One in Fairview off of Frank Scott and one in Belleville off of Frank Scott. The Belleville Target opens Oct. 14 in the Belleville Crossing shopping center. Home Depot has already opened and other tenants include Petsmart, Officemax, famous footwear, and Maurices that open later this year. Here is a link to view more about the Belleville Crossing Shopping Center:

http://www.descogroup.com/Property_Deta ... propid=212

xing · PostSep 27, 2007#52007-09-27T04:37+00:00

I think the only problem is that people in the Metro East aren't use to being a fast growing, or typical element of a metro area. In the past, one of everything was located in Fairview Heights, and few was offered in the rest of the metro east. Pretty much everything was in Fairview Heights.

We're growing, and while it may seem this Target is too close to others, the fact is, this Target is in the center of a retail district that isn't known for failure. Most of everything in Fairview succeeds. The other two Targets are located in fast growing areas of the region, and will continue to grow in customer base, because of the continued growth of those areas. None of these 3 stores will fail, in my opinion, because they are all located on a path of the majority of the St. Clair County population.

Trust me. Those who choose where these things go, know what they’re doing.

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 27, 2007#62007-09-27T15:14+00:00

Yes I assumed it would be okay, I was just really hopign they didn't plan on closing the store in Shiloh. I would rather have a 5 minute drive to Target in Shiloh rather than a 2 min. drive to 159/Frank Scott to keep from a huge abandoned building in Shiloh. Then again, it probably wouldn't take long to fill back up with another company.

I didn't even know there was a Target in Belleville.

shinpickle · PostSep 27, 2007#72007-09-27T16:39+00:00

there is already another shopping center 1 exit from this one. does anyone know if is still a half-vacant eyesore?

if so, this is pretty offensive sprawl.. just a farmland jumbo stripmall. the older center has room around it to expand, and is much better connected to the neighboring community. why not overhaul and reuse that site???

also, until they connect the west end of 15 to downtown, i support no development on it.

reguarding all the target locations, it sounds like the musical chair retail obsession that's gutted the MO suburbs is heading east.. this new development should never have been allowed when there is so much vacant big box space along North Belt W & W Main. the leadership in Belleville, like so many other old & fading regional centers, is highly corrupt & incompetent.

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 27, 2007#82007-09-27T17:09+00:00

The retail dies off significantly by time you hit the middle of Swansea on 159. So I don't oppose it.

brickandmortar · PostSep 27, 2007#92007-09-27T17:23+00:00

I know where they are proposing to put the Target and although the area around there is growing, it also can't handle the traffic. The Frank Scott extension was built as a two lane road through there and couldn't even handle rush hour traffic the day it opened. Throw a Target there and it will be bedlam. I hope there are plans to at least add turn lanes.

threeonefour · PostSep 27, 2007#102007-09-27T17:28+00:00

Juice13610 wrote:I didn't even know there was a Target in Belleville.

Funny thing is, I didn't know Target was building a new store in Fairview Heights. And I didn't expect it, since the original Target west of St. Clair Square closed when the store in Shiloh opened a few years ago.

I agree about the wastefulness of Belleville Crossing- it seems like the shopping center east of the Route 15/North Belt West interchange should have been redone to accommodate these retailers instead.

Belleville leaders point to all the development along Route 15 and Frank Scott Parkway as progress. With the exception of Belleville Crossing, though, many of the businesses have simply relocated from the interior of Belleville- especially car dealerships like Oliver Joseph Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep and Wagner Buick-Pontiac-GMC. West Main Street and North Belt West have countless vacant properties, and the exodus to the highway isn't helping matters by any means.

I'm glad Belleville leaders are making redevelopment of downtown and the stretch of West Main that links downtown to Lindenwood University (the old Belleville West THS) a priority. However, they're going to have their hands full addressing the blight that plagues West Main Street, North Belt West, and other commerical corridors as businesses continue to cluster at the city's edges (Route 15 @ Frank Scott, Carlyle Avenue @ Greenmount Road, etc.).

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 27, 2007#112007-09-27T19:54+00:00

Is everyone meaning 159 when they are saying 15? I noticed that I had accidentally put "Route 15" in the title, so now I've gotten myself a bit confused by confusing other people

And I think Belleville is just too spread out. Im driving down W Main St and its nothing but residential until you find Save A Lot/Church's Chicken/etc.

And, I wouldn't want to drive 10 miles down 159 to get to 64/40. I just don't find anything appealing about Belleville.

tm8951 · PostSep 27, 2007#122007-09-27T20:23+00:00

Juice13610 wrote:Is everyone meaning 159 when they are saying 15? I noticed that I had accidentally put "Route 15" in the title, so now I've gotten myself a bit confused by confusing other people

And I think Belleville is just too spread out. Im driving down W Main St and its nothing but residential until you find Save A Lot/Church's Chicken/etc.

And, I wouldn't want to drive 10 miles down 159 to get to 64/40. I just don't find anything appealing about Belleville.

People are getting confused because there are two new Target Stores, one that is under construction in Fairview at the intersection of 159 and Frank Scott and another Target that opens Oct. 14 in Belleville, IL at the intersection of 15 and Frank Scott. So everyone is talking about both new stores and it gets confusing since they are so close in proximity.

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 27, 2007#132007-09-27T20:32+00:00

I had no clue that the Target was just now being built. I thought that it was already built by the way the Belleville resident was talking to me today.

xing · PostSep 27, 2007#142007-09-27T21:31+00:00

Juice13610 wrote:Is everyone meaning 159 when they are saying 15? I noticed that I had accidentally put "Route 15" in the title, so now I've gotten myself a bit confused by confusing other people

And I think Belleville is just too spread out. Im driving down W Main St and its nothing but residential until you find Save A Lot/Church's Chicken/etc.

And, I wouldn't want to drive 10 miles down 159 to get to 64/40. I just don't find anything appealing about Belleville.

Am I the only one that calls 159, "Illinois St?" You know that's it's name, right?

shimmy · PostSep 27, 2007#152007-09-27T22:21+00:00

^Huh?

xing · PostSep 27, 2007#162007-09-27T23:17+00:00

Shimmy wrote:^Huh?

The name of 159 is Illinois Street. Sorry, it was a tangent, but it kills me.

juiceinkirkwood · PostSep 27, 2007#172007-09-27T23:23+00:00

Xing wrote:
Shimmy wrote:^Huh?

The name of 159 is Illinois Street. Sorry, it was a tangent, but it kills me.

I might call it Illinois St. some day, but for now its 159. It's a highway. You know that it's a highway, right?

xing · PostSep 27, 2007#182007-09-27T23:31+00:00

Juice13610 wrote:
Xing wrote:
Shimmy wrote:^Huh?

The name of 159 is Illinois Street. Sorry, it was a tangent, but it kills me.

I might call it Illinois St. some day, but for now its 159. It's a highway. You know that it's a highway, right?

sure, but labeling streets or highways by numbers sounds very rural to me. If anything has a name, I'll go by the name, not the number.

brickandmortar · PostSep 28, 2007#192007-09-28T00:00+00:00

I lived over there for a year and I never heard it referred to as Illinois St except in DT Belleville. Kinda like People calling Lincoln Trail in Fairview, Highway 50 (which it is in O'Fallon, except it isn't really US 50).

shimmy · PostSep 28, 2007#202007-09-28T00:04+00:00

Is it Illinois Street just in Belleville? I think the new "Old 159" in Edwardsville is called Illini Drive or something like that. I don't see how calling it 159 is rural, and in a way that's fair because it is a rural highway outside of the Metro East...most state highways are.

tysalpha · PostSep 28, 2007#212007-09-28T01:37+00:00

Xing wrote:
Juice13610 wrote:
Xing wrote:

The name of 159 is Illinois Street. Sorry, it was a tangent, but it kills me.

I might call it Illinois St. some day, but for now its 159. It's a highway. You know that it's a highway, right?

sure, but labeling streets or highways by numbers sounds very rural to me. If anything has a name, I'll go by the name, not the number.

No it's not, Xing. I always tell people I work off of US-67 in Creve Coeur.

xing · PostSep 28, 2007#222007-09-28T03:15+00:00

brickandmortar wrote:I lived over there for a year and I never heard it referred to as Illinois St except in DT Belleville. Kinda like People calling Lincoln Trail in Fairview, Highway 50 (which it is in O'Fallon, except it isn't really US 50).

Exactly. Change has to start somewhere.

Anyway, this is all from my perspective. We can never resolve an argument based on an opinion. I just prefer to call it by its other name.

Do people here know some of the names of the local freeways? Mark Twain Expressway, Mark McGuire Highway, and Paul Simon Freeway? I think there are more.

Agh, we went off on a major tangent here. I'm a mod, and I'm the guilty man.

southsidepride · PostSep 28, 2007#232007-09-28T21:30+00:00

well as long as we are off on that tangent, here on the Missouri side the county highways are designated by letter (Highway D, Highway J etc.) but have you ever noticed that no one refers to Page Ave. as "D"? In O'Fallon the main drag is Highway K, but the connotation of a letter highway is so rural that I imagine as time goes on it will get a name too and then be referred to by that name.

tm8951 · PostOct 05, 2007#242007-10-05T15:38+00:00

More stores to open later this fall

BY WILL BUSS

News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE --Target will open its doors Wednesday at Belleville Crossing, and several more tenants will follow this fall.

Clayton, Mo.-based developer The DESCO Group announced Hibbett Sports, a sporting goods store, has joined the lineup of retailers leasing space or under contract at the new Belleville shopping center along Illinois 15 near the intersection at Frank Scott Parkway West. It is expected to open a 4,800-square-foot store within the next two months. Others are:

• Famous Footwear, which will open later this month.

• -Maurice's, a women's clothing store that will open later this month.

• -Mattress Giant, which will also open by next month.

• -Keck Jewelers, which is scheduled to open next month.

• -Office Max, which will open in December.

• -PetSmart, expected to open by March.

Home Depot was the first to open last month. About 95 percent of the shopping center's space is spoken for, said Scott Sachtleben, senior vice president of development for The DESCO Group. He said there are plans to build 10 outlots for restaurants, cafes, banks or financial institutions. He also said negotiations are under way for six of those spots.

Last month, the City Council agreed to annex eight acres on Frank Scott Parkway West and expand the enterprise zone for a planned 80-room Hampton Inn hotel.

When finally completed, the investment will probably total more than $90 million

To read more: http://www.bnd.com/business/story/145317.html

juiceinkirkwood · PostOct 05, 2007#252007-10-05T19:47+00:00

Oh no!~!~

Strip mall white suburban global warming mass transit sprawl!

All of the urbanite buzzwords that can/will be used about the addition of *gasp* STRIP MALLS AND STORES!!!!

Dont these places know that they should locate in downtown St Louis and nowhere else??