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Are you tired of renting a ZipCar every time you want to go to Target? Ever since Kmart closed on Market East, Center City's been devoid of any large discounter. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you know where to look, Philadelphia is still chock full of local markets selling cheap paper towels and kitty litter. But given Philadelphia's popularity explosion, it's surprising that a name like Target has yet to grace Center City, even University City.
Well, fret no more. TargetExpress will be opening at the former Boyd next summer, Pearl Property's once-ugly, now-too-boring-to-be-ugly, proposed redevelopment of the historic theater's site. Personally I'm not a fan of Target. Not because they don't have cool stuff. They have very cool stuff, and they're great at making me buy it. That's why I'm not a fan. I go in looking for nails and come out with a lamp, some bath soaps, a few superhero t-shirts...and oops, I forgot the nails, so I go back in to take a look at those hip barstools I saw.
Jest aside, the scaled presence of this TargetExpress sounds like a hybrid between Walgreens and a full-size Target, so it will likely not include home furnishings and clothing. Strategically between West Market's office workers, densely packed Rittenhouse Square, and convenient to University City, 19th and Chestnut is a smart location.
Still, a TargetExpress is a far cry from what the Boyd Theater once was, and what we were all-but promised its redevelopment would become. A discount department store, even a miniaturized incarnation of one, is about as far as we can get from a luxury movie theater and a towering Art Deco apartment building.
And still no word on the Boyd's Art Deco lobby.
My car died the other day and the Make a Wish foundation is coming to pick it up tomorrow. I won't be getting another car for a few months, and while I'll miss spontaneous trips to Pennsyltucky, what I miss more is Kmart.
Yes, Kmart. I hate to admit it, but I truly miss that dreary discount department store.
With the mercury rising I need a new air conditioner. A few years ago I would have lugged my granny cart to Market East to buy a cheap window unit, but today I have little options. I'll probably borrow a friend's car or rent one, but Zip Cars and suburban friends aren't clean answers to pedestrianization strategies.
The impending improvements to Market East are wonderful and welcome, but high end retail and luxury apartments don't provide the same necessities and staples offered by the Kmarts and Walmarts of the world.
Perhaps a Target will fill the void. People seem to love the idea, and there's ample real estate on Broad. I've always imagined that the old School Board Building on North Broad Street would make a fantastic shopping center, perhaps anchored with a Target and a Philadelphia Sports Club. Until that happens I'll have to buy overpriced paper towels and kitty litter at CVS.
