Target Leaves Portsmouth!

Newport Daily News online 7.26.07

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff

PORTSMOUTH - Target no longer is interested in opening a Portsmouth store.

During a 30-minute meeting Wednesday afternoon, the head of the project thanked the community for its time and said the Minneapolis-based retailer will look elsewhere to build another store.

Target Corp.'s Trent Luger, the company's real estate development manager, told Town Administrator Robert G. Driscoll the company doesn't want to build a store where it isn't welcome and that clearly was the case in Portsmouth.

The news of the withdrawal comes a week before a scheduled public hearing - Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. at Portsmouth Middle School - on a proposed building moratorium on all big-box development.

"I know everyone is really excited," said Conni Harding of Preserve Portsmouth, a grassroots anti-Target/big-box development group. "We're looking forward to seeing what happens from here because I know everyone wants to learn more about smart growth.

"With that being said, it felt good to see the community come together and be heard. There are a lot of e-mails flying around right now about this and people are excited. At the same time, Target should be commended for hearing our concerns about traffic, the reservoir and safety and deciding to pull out."

Ever since talk first surfaced this year about the 146,000-square-foot project on a 16-acre lot at the corner of West Main Road and Union Street, it's drawn a mixed response.

Preserve Portsmouth was created by neighbors and others concerned about the project and the effect it could have on the community. Saying they weren't necessarily antidevelopment, members said they were worried about the spread of strip malls and chain retailers, such as in neighboring Middletown.

Others said less publicly that Target would be good for the community, with its jobs and taxes, a message reiterated by project attorney Robert M. Silva.

"It's unfortunate because I think a significant part of Target's story has never been told," Silva said after the meeting in Driscoll's Town Hall office. "Things like how it was a $27 million project, $2 million of that that was to be allocated to upgrades to the road system. Or the $300,000 to $400,000 in annual tax revenue for the town and $1.2 million to $1.3 million in state sales taxes it would have generated or the 150 to 200 jobs, all which would have been full time."

During a meeting in June before an audience of more than 100 people, the Town Council approved an "emergency moratorium" on all new retail construction 55,000 square feet and larger on land zoned for commercial, light industrial and town center uses fronting traffic-sensitive zones. More recently, town officials have been working on a beefed-up moratorium concerning such construction, the item that's going to be the topic of next week's public hearing.

"In a word, I'm ecstatic," said Leonard B. Katzman, the Town Councilman who put forward the original moratorium request. "The more I studied the issues, the more I learned it would be a net loss to the community economically because of the lost revenues to other businesses and the increased costs in terms of traffic and public safety."

Katzman also applauded Target for withdrawing its application.

"To me, Target withdrawing means the community now has the freedom to have a public discussion and craft the development ordinances we're looking for to ensure Portsmouth will stay and grow into the kind of community we want it to be," Katzman said. "That's done much more easily without the pressure of this kind of project hanging over us. In a sense, we should be thankful to Target for spurring Portsmouth to step up and address these issues."

Despite Target's withdrawal, Silva said it's not the last commercial development that's being considered for the site. He said the property's owners - the Egan family partnership - are planning on meeting with town officials in coming the weeks to discuss the retail options for the site.

"It's clear that a big-box project isn't going to work there, but they do want to maintain their rights to develop that property," Silva said. "It's been zoned commercial for 42 years and I know the family has always anticipated developing it commercially. We want to work with the community and make sure it's something that works there."

Target has stores in Smithfield and Warwick, and in Seekonk, Mass., and North Dartmouth, Mass. Silva said he doesn't know if Target is considering Middletown or Newport for a possible location.

"They're going to look elsewhere and still want to have more of a presence in Rhode Island," Silva said. "They really wanted to be here, but it didn't work out because they didn't want to continue with the fractious situation that had occurred."


	Target looks elsewhere Newport Daily News online 7.26.07 By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff PORTSMOUTH - Target no longer is interested in opening a Portsmouth store. During a 30-minute meeting Wednesday afternoon, the head of the project thanked the community for its time and said the Minneapolis-based retailer will look elsewhere to build another store. Target Corp.'s Trent Luger, the company's real estate development manager, told Town Administrator Robert G. Driscoll the company doesn't want to build a store where it isn't welcome and that clearly was the case in Portsmouth. The news of the withdrawal comes a week before a scheduled public hearing - Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. at Portsmouth Middle School - on a proposed building moratorium on all big-box development. "I know everyone is really excited," said Conni Harding of Preserve Portsmouth, a grassroots anti-Target/big-box development group. "We're looking forward to seeing what happens from here because I know everyone wants to learn more about smart growth. "With that being said, it felt good to see the community come together and be heard. There are a lot of e-mails flying around right now about this and people are excited. At the same time, Target should be commended for hearing our concerns about traffic, the reservoir and safety and deciding to pull out." Ever since talk first surfaced this year about the 146,000-square-foot project on a 16-acre lot at the corner of West Main Road and Union Street, it's drawn a mixed response. Preserve Portsmouth was created by neighbors and others concerned about the project and the effect it could have on the community. Saying they weren't necessarily antidevelopment, members said they were worried about the spread of strip malls and chain retailers, such as in neighboring Middletown. Others said less publicly that Target would be good for the community, with its jobs and taxes, a message reiterated by project attorney Robert M. Silva. "It's unfortunate because I think a significant part of Target's story has never been told," Silva said after the meeting in Driscoll's Town Hall office. "Things like how it was a $27 million project, $2 million of that that was to be allocated to upgrades to the road system. Or the $300,000 to $400,000 in annual tax revenue for the town and $1.2 million to $1.3 million in state sales taxes it would have generated or the 150 to 200 jobs, all which would have been full time." During a meeting in June before an audience of more than 100 people, the Town Council approved an "emergency moratorium" on all new retail construction 55,000 square feet and larger on land zoned for commercial, light industrial and town center uses fronting traffic-sensitive zones. More recently, town officials have been working on a beefed-up moratorium concerning such construction, the item that's going to be the topic of next week's public hearing. "In a word, I'm ecstatic," said Leonard B. Katzman, the Town Councilman who put forward the original moratorium request. "The more I studied the issues, the more I learned it would be a net loss to the community economically because of the lost revenues to other businesses and the increased costs in terms of traffic and public safety." Katzman also applauded Target for withdrawing its application. "To me, Target withdrawing means the community now has the freedom to have a public discussion and craft the development ordinances we're looking for to ensure Portsmouth will stay and grow into the kind of community we want it to be," Katzman said. "That's done much more easily without the pressure of this kind of project hanging over us. In a sense, we should be thankful to Target for spurring Portsmouth to step up and address these issues." Despite Target's withdrawal, Silva said it's not the last commercial development that's being considered for the site. He said the property's owners - the Egan family partnership - are planning on meeting with town officials in coming the weeks to discuss the retail options for the site. "It's clear that a big-box project isn't going to work there, but they do want to maintain their rights to develop that property," Silva said. "It's been zoned commercial for 42 years and I know the family has always anticipated developing it commercially. We want to work with the community and make sure it's something that works there." Target has stores in Smithfield and Warwick, and in Seekonk, Mass., and North Dartmouth, Mass. Silva said he doesn't know if Target is considering Middletown or Newport for a possible location. "They're going to look elsewhere and still want to have more of a presence in Rhode Island," Silva said. "They really wanted to be here, but it didn't work out because they didn't want to continue with the fractious situation that had occurred."