Target delays expansion of North Auburn store

A big expansion of Target's North Auburn store is in limbo.Up until last February, Target was moving ahead with the Placer County Planning Department on plans to modify a use permit and increase the size of its store by nearly 50 percent.That would have meant taking out its gardening department and building into a parking lot on the north end.But after an initial study by the county determined that Target plans needed a detailed environmental review to more closely examine traffic impact and parking issues, Target halted the process.Attempts to contact Target's real estate manager on the project went unanswered this week. Gina Langford, environmental coordinator with the county's Community Development Resource Agency, said her department has asked for more information but has had no reply since February."It's on hold — probably, my guess is, because of the economy," Langford said. If Target was interested at this time in pursuing the expansion, it would be contacting the county, she said."The ball's in their court," Langford said.Target opened at the corner of Bell Road and Highway 49 in 1998. The Target corporation agreed to modify its normal architecture by adding roof-elements and adjusted its parking grid to protect a stream running on the Highway 49 edge of the 10-acre site.This time around, plans have been to remove the gable roof and add a roofline more in keeping with standard Target store architecture. Parking plans would require a variance. A total of 414 spaces were proposed while 461 are required.The current store is 96,647 square feet and the Target plan would increase it to 137,525 square feet — 40,878 square-feet larger.Early documentation filed with the county indicates Target would be moving toward developing its new P-Fresh grocery concept with the expanded Auburn store. In a conference call earlier this month in conjunction with release of Target's second-quarter financial report, Chief Financial Officer Douglas Scovanner said that plans are to incorporate the P-Fresh department into "a substantial portion of our chain in the next 3 years."But Scovanner added that Target had still to determine the pace of remodeling activity in relation to earnings and revenue results. Target had a 6.4 percent drop in profit during the second quarter. It has also slowed its new-store openings, with plans for 10 in 2010. At the end of the second quarter, it had 71 more stores in operation than by the end of the second quarter 2008.