Is Target Targeting Marion?

The Southern Illinoisan is reporting today that Target is apparently the corporation looking to build a regional distribution center east of Marion southwest of Route 13 and Crabtree School Road.

Last night the Marion City Council annexed the property for the new center after the city engineer Glenn Clarida publicly provided more details about the project.

The property - 149.5 acres - is owned by Marion attorney Ron Osman. On Monday, the council, at Osman's request, annexed his property from the county into the city. That makes the city responsible for infrastructure improvements at the site, including road, water and sewer.

"The site development plan calls for a 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse with a 35-foot ceiling and 253,000-square-foot shipping center with a 24-foot ceiling," Clarida said. "Combined, that's 200,000 square feet larger than the Circuit City distribution center."

To measure it another way. That's more than 35 acres under roof.

Other details revealed included a new entrance off of Route 13 into the new industrial park as well as improvements to Crabtree School Road; plus new water and sewer lines, all totaling around $2.2 million. Clarida and the city expect the state will help on the roadwork and additional grants or low interest loans will likely be made available for the other infrastructure.

The city still isn't releasing the name, but apparently the contact number passed out to the media last night is for Target Communications of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To give an idea of how active a distribution center might be consider the new one Target is building near Allenwood, Pennsylvania. There the company plans to send "have a truck in or out of the facility every seven minutes each day except Christmas."

According to the company's 2006 Annual Report Target built 113 new stores last year in 36 states, closed some older ones for a net gain of 91. At the time they planned another 100 net new stores each year for the "foreseeable future, potentially doubling" the current store base by 2021.

As to distribution centers they added three in 2006 for a total of 25 and planned to open two more this year. The company had 79 stores in Illinois in 2006. Based in Minnesota the company has been around since incorporating in 1902.

Big New Industry Targeting Marion

It's not on their website yet, but WJPF News Radio is reporting a large national retailer may be just weeks away from announcing the selection of Marion for a new regional distribution center employing hundreds.

Marion Mayor Robert L. Butler told the station he's not been given the go-ahead to identify the name of the company but added that an announcement could come before the end of the month.

The new plant is a distribution center that could employ between 300 and 400 workers. Marion is already home to the large Circuit City distribution plant.

The Circuit City building is so big it's measured in acres rather than square feet. The new distribution center could very well be on the same scale. If so, that will be good for the hospitality industry. Construction jobs that big often involve specialized workers who come in and stay at area motels.

The new plant would be located east of Marion in a new industrial park on the south side of Route 13. The city council authorized a Phase I archaeological survey on the grounds earlier this summer. Later when U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello announced a multi-million dollar grant to extend a water line from Rend Lake to Marion Butler again commented about the number of jobs this would initiate.