October 21, 2004

Target holds grand opening at Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

Vice Mayor Pat Dando joins Target and Westfield Shoppingtown leaders during Target’s VIP night and ribbon cutting ceremony. From left are Larry Green, Matt Maffei, David Burke, Benny Boveda and Vice Mayor Pat Dando.

Excited shoppers stood at the ready, poised to charge in as Target opened its doors Oct. 10 at Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge. Target personnel beamed with pride as about 200 shoppers poured in. At 150,000 square feet, this two-story structure is one of the largest Targets in California.

With copper-plated funnels arrayed along its roofline, Target resembles a cruise ship coming into port, and its customers couldn’t wait for it to arrive. Although the grand opening was scheduled for 8 a.m., Valerie Peace and her mother were there at 6:55 a.m., eager to experience the new store. “My mother made me drive back from Disneyland in time to be here this morning,” Peace said. “This is a really cool place. It has lots of kids’ stuff.”

Ann Rasmussen from Almaden watched Target being built and was also eager for opening day. “I really like Target. It’s about time we had one close by,” she said. “I’m happy. I like everything. There’s so much to see and to buy.”

Customer Arlen Bobb was also delighted. “It’s huge! It looks like it has everything,” she enthused, looking around.

Jennifer Razzeca, marketing director for Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge, sees Target as a perfect complement to the mall’s other retail stores. “We are excited, as is the whole San Jose community, to welcome Target to Oakridge,” Razzeca said. “It’s an amazing store and offers something for everyone, from clothing to household items, electronics, and entertainment.”

Besides its usual wide range of merchandise, from fashions designed by Mizrahi and Mossimo, to linens, tea kettles and greeting cards, this Target offers an expanded grocery section including dry, refrigerated and frozen goods. Although it is one of Target’s largest stores, it is not a Super Target, which would require 175,000 square feet and offer a full deli as well as bakery, produce and meat sections.

In keeping with its updated design, merchandise at Target Oakridge is arranged into different sections. “You don’t have to run around the whole store looking for different things,” observed Benny Boveda, Target district team leader. “You can go up to the second floor to Children’s World and find everything you need—whether food, diapers, bedding or furniture—it’s all in one place.”

In two years, Target has doubled the number of its San Jose stores, bringing its current total to six. There are also two more stores in the planning stages, and coinciding with this grand opening, 44 other Targets opened across the state.

Sunday also marked the first anniversary celebration of Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge’s redevelopment grand opening, with family entertainment like face-painting, balloon animals and strolling musicians. “We are thrilled to celebrate the anniversary of our expansion and welcome Target to Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge,” said Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge General Manager David Burke.

“About a year ago, Westfield opened its newly renovated and redeveloped shopping center and invested $141 million to make sure that our community would have the very best when it came to shopping, eating and entertainment,” stated Vice Mayor Pat Dando. “Over the last year, it’s welcomed over 11 million shoppers to this center. That’s a huge number of people who come into our community every day to do their shopping. That’s good for San Jose, it’s good for Santa Clara County and it’s great for District 10.”

Westfield Shoppingtown Oak-ridge currently includes more than 160 specialty stores, a multiplex movie theater, an expanded and remodeled Macy’s, a remodeled Sears, a food court, five restaurants, a Playtown and an exterior playground complete with a double-decker carousel. In the spring of 2005, P.F. Chang’s, Ethan Allen and Jos. A. Bank will join the center by B.J.’s Restaurant and Brewery.

With Oakridge Mall’s expansion, residents have expressed concern about parking. “Parking is a problem,” acknowledged Matt Maffei, store team leader. “Westfield has employee shuttles running during the holiday season, but parking is going to continue to be an issue, not just for Target, but for the mall itself.”

Razzeca disagrees. “There is actually ample parking at Oakridge because during the redevelopment we built two new parking structures,” she said. “With Target opening, we are recovering about 250 parking spaces that were being used during its construction period,” noted Larry Green, Westfield Corporation’s vice president of Development. “In addition, we just opened 100 new spaces at the site as a result of the demolition of Michael’s and Walgreen’s and the reconfiguration of that building. Also, during our peak holiday shopping period, we’re having 1,500 employees park off-site, which adds quite significantly to the supply of parking spaces.”

Regarding increased traffic, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Cunneen sees it as a good thing. “That’s the sign of economic recovery,” he affirmed, “and that’s what we’re all looking for first and foremost.”

Vice Mayor Dando shares his point of view. “As to parking, we’ll see how it goes,” she said, “but needing additional parking is a good problem to have. There are many communities and stores throughout Santa Clara County that wish they had this problem. I have confidence that Westfield and Target will work with the community, and if there are issues that need to be addressed with parking, we will find a way to take care of it.”

Burke said he is delighted to have Target here. “Target, you were our number one choice to come to Oakridge and we are so excited to have you at this property,” he declared during Target’s VIP night. “When Target opens, this mall will be on its way to producing $270 million in sales.”

“Target provides a number of benefits that this community will enjoy,” Cunneen added. “It will have a large, positive economic impact in terms of jobs in a down economy, and it’s convenient, especially for families, in the Almaden and South San Jose areas.”

“I’m excited because Target brings retail and grocery shopping closer to our community,” stated Dando, “but it also does so much more than that. Target will hire 400 employees. Westfield hires about 2,000 people, so this will be 2,400 people we can employ right here in our community. On top of that, it will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax into our general funds, which is the way we provide all the services for our city including police, firefighters, parks and libraries.”

Target also aids the community by partnering with local non-profit organizations. “We have grant programs that focus on bringing the arts to underprivileged children and bringing performances into high schools, as well as educational grants for family violence prevention,” Maffei said.

In its Take Charge of Education program, Target offers up to one percent of Target Visa purchases back to local schools, and offers grants in reading and the arts, as well as scholarships. Target also sponsors veterans’ and armed services’ initiatives, and partners with non-profits like the United Way, American Red Cross and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We have waited for this Target for a very long time,” said an enthusiastic Dando. “I am a certified Target shopper and am so excited to have one close to home. As a wife, mother and grandmother, there’s no better place that I’d like to come, especially with my grandchildren. We can always find things we need at Target. But it’s not just because of the value that you find in a Target store, it’s also the great inventory they always have—and this Target has groceries!”