Headway on new Target site in SGF made this summer

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Slowly but surely is the name of the game for the city’s largest new development project in years.

The large tract of land at W. Sunshine St. and West Bypass has been cleared and the dirt has been turned.  The acreage will soon be home to Sunshine Towne Center, a retail district anchored by the city’s second Target store.

A year and a half after OzarksFirst confirmed the retailer was moving in, crews are busy installing infrastructure like streets and stormwater tunnels. The site improvements will eventually be paid for with a special sales tax applied to Sunshine Towne Center. The additional 1% tax (in addition to existing city, county, and state sales taxes) will be collected on purchases made at outlying businesses in the center. Target itself will be exempt from the added tax. As spelled out in the Community Improvement District plan approved by City Council earlier this year, the funding would reimburse the developer for the costs related to the infrastructure.

According to renderings the developer presented to City Council last year, the district will include several secondary stores. The first of those has now been confirmed.

On Friday, Olive Garden told OzarksFox it is building a second location for the city. While the Florida-based restaurant company didn’t confirm the exact location, City of Springfield records indicate the address will be within the Sunshine Towne Center site facing Sunshine St.

Olive Garden’s current Springfield location, situated off of South Glenstone near Battlefield Road, has been in operation for several decades.

While Olive Garden says it plans to open its new Sunshine store in the summer of 2025, we’re still waiting to hear when Target will be done.  Springfield is listed on the retailer’s website as an upcoming location, but those details do not include a projected opening date.

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