Kalispell Target set for $1.4 million renovation

The Target store in North Kalispell will undergo a $1.4 million renovation this month.

About 40 large shipping containers full of remodeling supplies are parked in front of the store and employees say more are set to arrive over the first couple days of February.

The changes to the store will be as expansive as the price tag. The store is expanding the toy and apparel department, adding four new self-check out stands and retrofitting dressing rooms and bathrooms, said Dick Lenss, who will oversee the remodel as a team leader.

“It’s going to be a more upscale look,” Lenss said. “Apparel is probably the exciting part. It’s what Target calls Apparel 2.0.”

Lenss also said the new cosmetic department will be about twice as large and the health and beauty section will grow by about 30 percent.

He said the store also plans to expand the desk where employees packaged online orders so they could ship items from the store locally and also prepare items for shoppers who order online but pick up from the store.

Some of the space needed for the expansion will come from the electronics department. Lenss said the company has recognized an increasing number of those sales are happening online.

Lenss estimated the store would be fully renovated sometime near the end of March or early April.

The renovation project is one of 1,000 similar projects the company announced last year as part of a nationwide remodeling to be completed by the end of 2020.

Multiple media reports have prognosticated that the remodels and shift in use of their brick-and-mortar stores to help fill online orders are likely attempts to fend off competitors like Walmart and Amazon.

The store is remaining open without any adjustment to hours throughout the renovation, as Lenss said the bulk of the work is being done overnight. Customers may notice prep work being done toward closing time in the evening or cleanup happening in the morning, but they aim to keep it as low-key as possible during public operating hours.

He said there is a crew of 30 workers doing the remodel, and in anticipation of the increased capacity in the new store they kept on about 75 percent of the crop of seasonal employees they usually hire through the holidays.

Idaho-based contractor Engineered Structures Inc. is doing the work. The $1.4 million cost includes $14,099 in fees to the city for the building permit and commercial plan review process.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.