Neighbors divided over plan for Target

Old Lombardi Sports site being considered

The owner of the recently vacated Lombardi Sports building on Russian Hill has shelved a plan for a housing development, and instead hopes to lease the building to the retail giant Target.

Target would occupy the entire 50,000- square- foot structure as part of a Bay Area expansion that has already resulted in new stores at the downtown Metreon and the old Mervyn’s space at Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue. Smaller stores, branded as Target Expresses, recently opened at 225 Bush St. in downtown as well as in downtown Berkeley. Another Target will open in October on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood.

In October, The Chronicle reported that Lombardi Sports, which had operated in several locations in the city since 1948, would close its most recent

home at Jackson and Polk to make way for 62 condominiums. At that time members of the Lombardi family, who owned both the business and the property, said the business had been hurt by poor ski seasons combined with everincreasing pressure from online retailers.

The Lombardis closed the business in January and quickly sold the building for $ 7.5 million to a partnership led by Village Properties. While Village Properties was working on plans for the housing development, Target approached them with a highly lucrative offer — upward of $ 1.5 million a year in rent, according to retail brokerage sources.

In mid- April Target held a neighborhood meeting to discuss the proposed store, according to two people who were there. Lobbyist Boe Hayward, who is representing Target, declined to comment. Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker also declined to comment on the Jackson Street site. “As we enter a market, we explore a lot of different locations,” she said.

Welker said the Target Express stores — which focus on “quick trip shopping” — cater to the needs of specific neighborhoods so as to complement, rather than compete with, existing stores.

But Target’s entry into Russian Hill could be an uphill fight. Target, based in Minneapolis, is likely to face stiff opposition from residents and Polk Street merchants who say that the big- box retailer would generate traffic, hurt mom- andpop retailers, and be out of character on a commercial corridor dominated by locally owned boutiques.

Tina Moylan, president of the Russian Hill Neighborhood Association, said Target’s efforts to take over the Lombardi space have become the hot topic in the neighborhood, along with the Market on Polk grocery store proposed to take over the old Big Apple Discount Center at Polk and Clay streets.

“I’m hearing a lot of positive stuff about the Market on Polk and a lot of talk about ‘ what can we do to stop Target,’ ” said Moylan. “People want to preserve the climate of their neighborhood and feel Target would undercut our merchants.”

Duncan Ley, who owns the Tonic and Bullitt bars on Polk and is president of the Polk District Merchants Association, said he preferred the previous plan for residential development on the Lombardi site.

“Everybody is in agreement that Target at that spot is not what the neighborhood needs,” Ley said. “That is the resounding sentiment on Polk Street.”

He called the proposed Target “a shot across the bow of the local merchants.”

“I get the ( Target) offering, but I think that a lot of folks in the neighborhood would like to see something that is uniquely San Franciscan,” Ley said. “I’m not opposed to formula retail. I just think it’s more appropriate in some parts of the city than others.”

But not all Polk Street shoppers are opposed to the idea of a Target. Kurt Kober, an associate director of sales at Clorox who lives on central Nob Hill, said adding Target would actually increase the amount of money he spends at local retailers along Polk Street.

“The only time we get in our car is on the weekend, and usually it’s to go to Target,” he said. “It would be nice if we didn’t have to do that.”

He said that Target’s array of goods would not compete with the obscure wines he buys at the Jug Shop or the screws he buys at Cole Hardware. Those stores offer expertise and customer service that a place like Target lacks.

“I’d go to Polk Street more often because I’d likely be in the neighborhood more often instead of driving to places like Colma,” he said.

Supervisor Julie Christensen, who represents Russian Hill, said she would support Target coming into her district but that the Lombardi site is not the right place for it.

She said her office is talking to other property owners that might be able to accommodate Target.

“Everybody loves Target, but nobody loves it on Polk Street,” Christensen said.

“I think that a lot of folks ... would like to see something that is uniquely San Franciscan.” Duncan Ley, bar owner