Target to open a store in Del Sur

Just in time for this year’s holiday shopping season, a Target store will open in Del Sur, making it a likely quick trip for 4S Ranch and west Rancho Bernardo residents.

Target officials said of the 15 stores they are opening across the U.S., two will be in San Diego County. A general merchandise Target store is coming to Del Sur, while a TargetExpress is going into San Diego’s South Park neighborhood.

The store coming to Del Sur — tentative opening is planned for this October — will be around 135,000 square feet, anchoring a new shopping center for the neighborhood just west of 4S Ranch. The store will be located at 17170 Camino del Sur.

Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman, said the store will have general merchandise plus an expanded fresh food layout. The latter “offers guests highly-differentiated items in addition to basic essentials, including an assortment of food products like dry grocery, refrigerated dairy, lunch meats and frozen items.

“It also offers an open-market layout,” she said. “The design creates an environment that brings new food offerings to our general merchandise store including basic fresh produce (bananas, strawberries and bagged lettuce), fresh packaged meat (ground beef, chicken and pork) and baked goods.”

Winkels said the Del Sur store will also have a Starbucks, pharmacy, clinic and optical department.

Officials plan to hire around 200 employees, who can apply online at Target.com/careers or at in-store kiosks at all Target stores (including the one in Poway) approximately three months prior to the new store’s opening, she said. The company will also host job fairs around two months prior to the October opening. At the fairs prospective candidates may apply and interview for open positions.

According to Winkels, the company works closely with local officials and guests to develop stores that complement and support a community’s needs.

“We identify potential new store opportunities in trade areas that are underserved or have the potential for new population growth,” she said. “We analyze extensive data on existing store performance, demographics, competition and market potential to identify trade areas which would be well-served by additional Target store locations. The type of store we build is determined by factors such as anticipated sales volume, site constraints and the specific needs of a community.”

According to published reports, the Target store (on a 10.4-acre parcel the company purchased) will anchor the new Del Sur Town Center, an 18-acre shopping complex being developed by Shea Properties at Camino de la Plaza and Paseo del Sur. Early drawings show several clusters of store buildings forming the shopping center.

The Del Sur neighborhood within the City of San Diego’s Black Mountain Ranch master plan has been going through a housing boom for the past few years as single-family and multifamily homes are being constructed in areas adjacent to and immediately west of Del Norte High School and Poway Unified’s Design 39 Campus (a K-8 school).