The Target store on Route 59 in Naperville is being transformed into a SuperTarget.
But before construction could start, the Naperville City Council needed to sign off on a plan allowing the construction company to use a portion of the parking lot between the store and Route 59 as a staging area. The company request was granted unanimously at this week’s meeting.
Byron DeBord, senior project manager with Novak Construction, said his company needs 202 spaces on the northwest corner of the parking lot for the next 28 weeks while the Target is remodeled.
That leaves more than 400 spaces for customers and staff, which should be more than enough since the most ever used was 365 during the holiday shopping season, DeBord said.
Marco Capellupo, representing Target Construction, said the store is being fully remodeled inside and out. Construction should be complete by August.
With the likelihood that a new SuperTarget will attract more customers, the City Council took the opportunity to reiterate the need for a stoplight on Jefferson Avenue at Target’s south entrance.
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At its Jan. 20 meeting, the council asked staff to broach the idea of installing a traffic light on Jefferson, east of Route 59, with businesses that would benefit from it.
That would include Target to the north and the Brixmor Property Group’s shopping centers to the south.
Officials from Bixmor said in January the company is willing to contribute its share to the cost of a new traffic light.
Brixmor owns the Westridge Court and Heritage Square shopping centers, the latter of which is proposed to be rebuilt as Block 59, a regional upscale dining and entertainment complex at Route 59 and Aurora Avenue.
Naperville Target store director Jenna Ballweber said while she doesn’t have the ability to authorize a traffic light, she has spoken to officials at company headquarters about it.
“I agree with the concerns of the community and have started to communicate with the contractors at Target that would make that possible,” Ballweber said.
City Manager Doug Krieger said he was encouraged after conversations he and Bill Novack, director of Transportation, Engineering and Development, had with Target corporate officials Tuesday. They will be sending traffic and crash data to the company, he said.