Evizda

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According to an application submitted to the department by construction engineering company BL Companies on behalf of the site’s owner, Equity One (Norwalk) LLC, proposed work at the Connecticut Avenue store includes the addition of a two-bay truck loading dock and concrete compactor pad, as well as modifications to the curb at the entry drive off of Richard’s Avenue.

Baker said the project, in its current form, would not involve tearing down the building in any way, but simply making additions and enhancements to it as the store is converted to a Target.

“It’s just a swap of tenants,” Baker said. “They’re proposing some minor changes. Obviously they have to rebrand the building with new signage, and then they’re just doing some minor stuff like putting a loading dock in the back and redoing a driveway off Richards Avenue, so it’s more minor tweaks to the existing site.”

If the project receives approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, the plans will then go before other city departments for approval and proper permits. Baker said it was too early in the process to say what an estimated timeline for the project would be if fully approved by the city.

“It’s kind of like [a] typical administrative permitting process,” Baker said, “which is pretty much dependent on each department’s scheduling.”

If approved, the swap would give Norwalk its first Target store. Currently, the closest Target locations are in Stamford and Trumbull.

“It would be the first Target in the city of Norwalk,” Michelle Woods Matthews, the city’s director of communications, said to Patch,” so that would be a big deal for residents and nearby residents.”

The Connecticut Avenue store currently houses Norwalk’s second Walmart location, which also operates a store near the Wilton border at 650 Main Avenue. Baker noted the city has not had any issues with Walmart that prompted the potential swap.

He and Woods Matthews also said the city’s Business Development and Tourism department would work with any Walmart employees who might potentially lose their jobs as a result of the tenant swap to get a job with Target or other area businesses in Norwalk.

“When these sort of swaps happen,” Woods Matthews said, “it’s concerning for the potential job loss…the Business Development and Tourism department, as it does, will continue to work with any people who experience job loss from Walmart and are looking to get rehired, maybe at the potential Target or somewhere else. We want to make sure that all our residents continue to have good job opportunities. That’s the only concern of the city, and we want to make sure to fill any potential gaps there.”

Requests for comment from both Target and Walmart were not immediately returned Thursday.

If approved, the project would bring another new addition to the growing slate of businesses that have recently opened or announced plans to open along Connecticut Avenue.

Last year, Wegmans announced plans to open a supermarket at 47 Richards Avenue. In March, Crumbl Cookies announced the opening of its first Norwalk location in the ShopRite shopping plaza at 360 Connecticut Avenue.

ShopRite, meanwhile, officially unveiled the results of a years-long renovation project at its flagship Norwalk store last month.

Woods Matthews said the city was doing a great job at recruiting new businesses, both big and small, to Connecticut Avenue and other areas of Norwalk over the past few years.

“We’re constantly trying to attract new businesses to come to Norwalk,” Woods Matthews said, “and we’re also…promoting business activity, what’s happening in Norwalk, and trying to really get more folks in the area to spend time at a lot of these small and larger businesses, but clearly there’s a huge interest in Norwalk and people are noticing.”

Baker said the influx of new businesses in the area also indicates there is a strong retail market in Norwalk.

“[Norwalk] is sort of a destination,” Baker said. “We have good transit connections, and I think people are really seeing Norwalk as a good place to live, shop and recreate, things like that.”

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