Target project raises hopes for retail Downtown

Ever since the Kaufmann’s/ Macy’s department store closed five years ago, Downtown has been in search of a retail savior.

It may have finally hit the mark with last week’s announcement Minneapolisbased Target will open an urban format concept inside the very same store that closed in 2015. At least, that’s the view of local retail experts.

While Target is by no means a destination retailer — its stores populate the Pittsburgh region’s suburbs — it could add a “new jolt of excitement” to a Downtown that has struggled to replace Kaufmann’s/Macy’s, said Herky Pollock, a CBRE executive vice president who specializes in retail.

“It’s ironic that over the last decade our central business

district has relied heavily on replacing big box stores with restaurants and entertainment and now, with restaurants struggling, a big-box store is coming to the rescue,” he said.

The store Target will open in the Kaufmann’s/Macy’s building will only be about 22,000 square feet in size — far smaller than those shoppers can find in, say, Cranberry or East Liberty, where the retailer’s operations span 145,000 square feet.

But, for some, the symbolism of going Downtown is huge.

“It’s a pretty significant win for Pittsburgh, because Target doesn’t open these in every city. This is one of their growth vehicles,” said David Glickman, director of retail services for the Newmark Knight Frank real estate firm.

While the mini Target won’t offer all the merchandise full-sized stores do, it “fulfills the grocery store void, the soft goods void, and it adds tremendous credibility to our Downtown,” Mr. Pollock said. “It’s a scaleddown version of their traditional big-box store, with potentially most of the same categories, only with a more limited offering,” he noted.

The store model typically includes a grocery component. That should help satisfy Downtown residents, who have been clamoring for such an amenity for some time.

Right now, the only market available in the Golden Triangle is the Market Street Grocery in Market Square.

Target has been considering a Downtown Pittsburgh location for a number of years. At one time it had its arrow aimed at the old Gimbels building on Smithfield Street but didn’t reach a deal.

Mr. Glickman sees the mini Target, to be located at

Fifth Avenue and Smithfield right under the old Kaufmann’s famous clock, as more of an amenity for nearby residents and office workers than anything else.

“It will make living Downtown more convenient and appealing. It will very useful to students, workers and guests at hotels, etc.,” he said.

In Mr. Pollock’s mind, it also could become a magnet for other retailers and restaurants.

While many retailers have struggled or even declared bankruptcy because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Target has been more than holding its own, he said.

“Big-box stores like Target, grocers and wholesale clubs have shined through a time when many other retailers have not,” he said.

Downtown Pittsburgh has welcomed would-be retail saviors in the past only to see its hopes dashed.

Former Mayor Tom Murphy recruited Lord & Taylor and the now-defunct Lazarus department store chains to open stores in the Golden Triangle, only to see both fail in four and five years, respectively. Mr. Murphy also tried to entice Nordstrom to a Downtown site, but the tony retailer eventually chose to locate at Ross Park Mall.

Landing Target was a big win for Core Realty, the Philadelphia developer that has been dogged by delays, liens, lawsuits, and tenant complaints as it has struggled to complete the Kaufmann’s/ Macy’s redevelopment, known as Kaufmann’s Grand on Fifth.

Only about half of 311 apartments have been finished, and Core has yet to produce many of the promised amenities for residents, some of whom have broken leases and left because of problems ranging from a mouse infestation to broken elevators.

Core has lined up a new investment team led by Philadelphia-based Lubert Adler Partners LP. It plans to invest close to $50 million to finish the project, including parking that is crucial for Target.

Only one retail tenant has opened so far in the building: the Waffles, INCaffeinated restaurant on the Fifth Avenue side.

John Jackson, the Cushman & Wakefield/Grant Street Associates senior vice president who spent more than three years recruiting Target on behalf of Core, said the retailer’s decision to commit has already stirred interest from others.

“We have seen an increase in activity,” he said.

Neither Mr. Pollock nor others see the arrival of Target as having a negative impact on the Burlington Coat Factory store several blocks away in the Gimbels building or other clothing stores and drugstores.

“Target will help other retailers Downtown. It’s one more store that will keep people Downtown,” Mr. Glickman said.

John Valentine, executive director of the Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corp., said that when Macy’s was still operating in the Kaufmann’s/Macy’s building, other retailers like Heinz Healey’s, the Joseph Orlando men’s stores and the Larrimor’s clothing store continued to do well.

“The retailers we have as far as clothing are more upscale than Target. It’s not going to hurt [Market Street Grocery]. It’s not going to hurt anyone as far as household goods, because nobody is selling household goods Downtown,” he said.

“I think Target coming in will bring in more workforce, and I think it’s going to help everyone.”