Chili gets green light for Target in Rochester

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Jul 23, 2008 by Eric Walter

After three years of off-again-on-again efforts, Target Corp. is set to expand into Chili -- the Minnesota-based retailer will pay Wegmans Food Markets $4 million for 11 acres of land adjacent to the grocery store at 3175 Chili Ave.

According to spokeswoman Delia McLinden, local demographics fuel Target's push; the company seeks to grow into communities of 100,000 or more residents and has been expanding in Monroe County. Target already operates stores in Henrietta, Greece, Irondequoi, Webster and Penfield as well as in Victor, in Ontario County.

"We've done well in the New York area to date and we anticipate building on that," McLinden said.

Construction on the 128,000-sq. ft. Chili store is expected to take about a year and is set to begin soon, said McLinden. A tentative opening date is set for July 2009. The store is expected to employ 150 to 250 people.

Wegmans spokesperson Jo Natale confirmed the land deal, but declined to discuss further details.

Unlike other parts of the county, Chili reamins relatively undeveloped in terms of retail. This is the third attempt by Target to move into the town. In 2005, Georgia-based North American Properties launched plans for a 345,000-sq. ft. retail complex on Paul Road, which would have featured a Target. The proposal met with fierce opposition and a grassroots lobbying campaign by many residents, however, as well as fears on the part of some elected officials that it would draw too much traffic and contribute to commercial sprawl.

In 2006, Buffalo-based Benderson Development proposed building a smaller, 134,000- sq. ft. retail development at Chili Center, which would have featured Target and another big box retailer. Though far less controversial, that proposal also fell through.

Chili resident Robert Mulcahy, one of the organizers behind the anti-Paul Road efforts, said he is still not crazy about the idea of a big box store in Chili, but likes this one more than the North American Properties proposal Opposition this time around has been muted, he said.

Chili Supervisor David Dunning, who also was active in the anti- Paul Road campaign prior to running against and defeating former Supervisor Tracy Logel, said he sees the current proposal as being much better. Not only will it be built on commercially-zoned land, but it also fits in with the town's comprehensive land use plan, he said.

"I'm absolutely for it," Dunning said.