Target closing Washington Square location in Center City. Here's why
The closure has some residents concerned about the state of shopping in their neighborhood.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Target is closing its Washington Square store in Center City Philadelphia.
The store on the 1100 block of Chestnut Street will close for good on May 13.
A Target spokesperson says they're taking the action after multiple years of working to improve performance.
"To the guests who shopped with us at Washington Square, we appreciate you shopping with us and hope you'll continue to visit us at another location close to you or via Target.com and the Target app," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"I'm shocked. I'm disappointed because my feet are here often. I live within the block. I'm here all the time," said Kristen Everett.
That's not good for the neighborhood and I don't know why they would close when Jefferson is opening," said Fred Kogan. "I'm bummed."
The shutdown follows the closure of several other high-profile stores in the area, including Wawa. It has some residents concerned about the state of shopping in their neighborhood.
"It feels like it's kind of been like a state of flux, state of transition. This sort of stuff happens, also feels like there are outside forces not managed as much as they could have been either," said Michael McCool from South Philadelphia.
While you may see empty storefronts, statistics from 6abc's data journalism team reveal there are actually more stores opening.
As of November of 2022, 80% of storefronts are occupied, which is up from 45% during the height of the pandemic in the summer of 2020. And it's nearing the 89% occupancy it was before the pandemic.
The majority of storefronts are currently occupied by independent or local retailers and restaurants.
The Center City District said in their retail report: "Many national chain retailers closed stores across the country due to trends accelerated by the pandemic."
"There's a transition right now for everyone. Right after COVID, everybody's doing something differently," said Fredericka Robinson from Center City.
The Target store first opened in 2016 and employs roughly 45 full and part-time workers.
Those team members are being offered the opportunity to work at other nearby locations.
