[2024] Target Backfills Former Kmarts for New Superstores
Kmart has a Target on its back! Here, we highlight nine Target construction projects from 2021. Some are in planning, others are under construction, and one is already completed, but they all have something in common: each is a Target backfill of a former Kmart store.
What is a backfill in real estate?
In real estate development, a backfill is essentially the renovation of an existing space or building for a new facility or tenant. Backfilling can refer literally to the refilling of excavated ground during construction as well. In this particular case, Target is targeting former Kmart store locations and “backfilling” them to create new Target stores.
Geospex screenshot of nine 2021 Target backfills of former Kmart stores (Yellow: Planned; Purple: Construction; Pink: Completed)
To see that Target – or a company like it – is planning to build, renovate, or add onto a number of stores is not unusual. It isn’t surprising that Target searches for sites with similar characteristics when it looks to plan construction for one of its store locations. What would be noteworthy, though, is if Target were looking for retail and grocery spaces that had the exact same criteria, and it turns out that Target may be doing just that.
Target appears to be buying and renovating former Kmart stores to convert them into new Targets. Although Target’s affinity for former Kmarts was reported on in January 2021, when the company bought five old Kmarts, that list of stores set for conversion has since grown.
This list is based on information from BuildCentral’s ConstructionWire, as well as its Planned Grocery product per a query for 2021 construction projects by Target Brands, Inc. that involve backfilling former Kmarts. The projects are listed in order according to estimated project value.
Target – Stevensville, Md.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Stevensville, Md.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (95,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $5-$25 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Stevensville, MD 21666. 200 Kent Manor Dr |
| Details: | Plans call for build out of a 95,000-square-foot space which formerly housed a KMart to make way for a Target store. |
| Stage: | Early Construction |
| Construction Start: | Q3/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q2/2022 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – Raleigh, N.C.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Raleigh, N.C.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (112,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $5-$25 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Raleigh, NC 27615. 8701 Six Forks Road |
| Details: | Plans call for renovation of an existing 112,000-square-foot building for a new Target store. |
| Stage: | Completed |
| Construction Start: | 11/2020 |
| Construction End: | 8/2021 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – Auburn, Maine
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Auburn, Maine.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (110,763 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $9.6 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Auburn, ME 04210. 603 Center St |
| Details: | Plans call for a former Kmart retail space to be renovated for a 110,763 square-foot Target store. |
| Stage: | Early Construction |
| Construction Start: | Q3/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q3/2022 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – Lebanon, Pa.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Lebanon, Pa.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (117,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $1-$5 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Lebanon, PA 17042. 1745 Quentin Rd |
| Details: | The plan calls for the backfill of a 117,000 square-foot Target that was formerly a Kmart. |
| Stage: | Planning (Active) |
| Construction End: | N/A |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – Wall, N.J.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Wall, N.J.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (66,817 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $1-$5 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Wall, NJ 07719. 1825 NJ-35 |
| Details: | Plans call for the remodeling of a former 66,817-square-foot Kmart into a Target store. |
| Stage: | Early Construction |
| Construction Start: | Q3/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q2/2022 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target Renovation – Kearny, N.J.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Kearny, N.J.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (90,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | N/A |
| Estimated Value: | $1-$5 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Kearny, NJ 07023. 200 Passaic Ave |
| Details: | Plans call for the renovation of a former Kmart into a 90,000 square foot Target. |
| Stage: | Groundbreaking |
| Construction Start: | Q4/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q3/2022 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – West Lebanon, N.H.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in West Lebanon, N.H.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (40,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $1-$5 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | West Lebanon, NH 03784. 200 S Main St |
| Details: | Plans call for 40,000 square feet to be renovated into a Target. |
| Stage: | Topping Out |
| Construction Start: | Q2/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q4/2021 |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target – Bradenton, Fla.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Bradenton, Fla.
| Project Type/Size: | Grocery (49,894 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation |
| Estimated Value: | $1-$5 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Bradenton, FL 34209. 7350 Manatee Ave W |
| Details: | Plans call for build-out of a 49,894-square-foot space within the Beachway Plaza to make way for a new Target store. |
| Stage: | Planning (Active) |
| Construction End: | N/A |
| Bid Due Date: | N/A |
Target Renovation – Jackson, Wyo.
Planned Grocery screenshot of the Target backfill of a former Kmart in Jackson, Wyo.
| Project Type/Size: | Retail/Grocery (70,000 sq-ft) |
| Construction Type: | Renovation, Flash Projects |
| Estimated Value: | < $1 million |
| Sector: | Private |
| Location: | Jackson, WY 83001. 510 US-89 |
| Details: | Plans call for the conversion of a Kmart store into a Target. |
| Stage: | Construction |
| Construction Start: | Q2/2021 |
| Construction End: | Q1/2022 |
| Bid Due Date: | 4/14/2021 |
When a big box retailer closes one of its store locations, questions tend to crop up. Concerns about what causes a given closure certainly factor into those questions, but the most common thought, both among everyday people and larger companies, has to do with who or what is going to move into that massive, now-vacant, really-good-for-only-big-box-retailers space. It comes as no surprise, then, that more often than not, when a big-name store closes, it’s another big name that’s getting set to replace it.
As for questions like “Why Target and Kmart?” and “Why Now?”: it probably has to do with the pandemic. Sure, COVID-19 has taken its toll on everyone in a variety of ways, but Target and Kmart have seen their fortunes trend in opposite directions since March 2020.
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