Target is remaking itself early next month in Baxter.
Zach Schmidt, Target store manager, said the exterior is so extensive it may appear the store is closed. But it will be open its regular hours and additional staff is being hired to help guide customers to the items they are seeking.
The remodel, which will change the interior and exterior but won’t enlarge the store’s footprint, will begin March 6. It’s expected to last 13 weeks.
The change is driven by the P-Fresh model, or prototype fresh stores, to expand its grocery and fresh foods. Schmidt said the fresh food expansion came after listening to customer comments and is Target’s growth strategy.
“Overwhelmingly that is what we are continuing to hear,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said the goal is to make the store into a look that follows an up-north destination. The exterior plans include a brick-red like color, flagstone and greenery planted along the store’s expansive front. Timbers and an altered roof line will highlight the store’s entrance.
Inside the food court, which was just to the right of the entrance will become a Starbucks.
“They’ve tested it in other stores and guests seem to really like that,” Schmidt said of Starbucks.
The electronics section will get a facelift. The jewelry department will shrink a bit and also get a new look.
Schmidt said they are asking for people’s patience as they will continue to be open during construction. Staff has been added to help people find what they are looking for. The store employs about 170 with additional staff added for the guest service and construction.
The remodel will follow a construction sequence. Schmidt said customers may be familiar with the style and colors used in the St. Cloud Target interior, which will be similar to the look here.
Wausau Paper reported Henry C. Newell was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer effective March 1.
Newell, 53, joined Wausau Paper in 2007 as vice president-business development and was promoted to the position of senior vice president-specialty products as of January 2009.
In 2010, Newell became senior vice president-paper when the company consolidated specialty products and printing and writing business segments.
The former Motor City site has been generating a fair amount of buzz lately for possible development action. One reader suggested it may become a Costco, a membership warehouse club offering brand name merchandise. But the real estate firm, Cambridge Realty, listed on the property reported it could not make any comments and the city of Baxter noted it does not have anything in the works from Costco.
Michael Holdings of Baxter purchased the Motor City property from Dondelinger’s in July of 2005. The Crow Wing County Recorder’s office reports there were three different deeds with deed tax that totaled $26,317.61, indicating a sale price of just more than $7,975,000.
In January of 2010 Michael Holdings of Baxter sold the property to JRMINN LLC, a company from Louisville, Ky. for $5.5 million. According to recent county records, JRMINN still owns the property.
Open spaces, which represent available places for business opportunities, in Pequot Lakes and Crosslake, will be highlighted in the coming week with Open Space Tours in each city. The self-guided tours look at spaces available for lease or purchase.
The Pequot Lakes tour is planned from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday.
Crosslake’s tour, 4-7 p.m. Thursday lists about 23-25 available commercial spaces, the vast majority on County Highway 66 from the County Highway 3 intersection near the U.S. Corps of Engineers Crosslake Recreation area north toward Daggett Pine Road by Moonlite Bay. Crosslake’s tour is a joint effort with the city and Brainerd Lakes Chamber.
The goal is to attract entrepreneurs with start-ups or those interested in a move. Office, retail, lodging, multi-purpose and restaurant space is represented on the tour.
Crosslake is noting access to fiber optics, opportunities for tax-increment financing or JOBZones, a revolving loan fund and the city is listing its tax rate as a low incentive among 29 area cities.
Project New Hope is growing. The lakes area based organization developed retreats aimed at helping returning combat veterans and their families re-adjust. Recently Project New Hope reported if contacts in 20 states result in retreats, the organization will be halfway to its goal of being in all 50 states.
RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
