Target to open store across the street from UF campus

Soon, the days of students taking the bus to Archer Road to pick up toilet paper and groceries will be gone.

Target announced it will open a new store next to UF’s campus next July, according to the company’s website.

For Ivy Santos, a UF art education freshman, the store will be within walking distance of where she lives at Buckman Hall.

“I love Target,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s a long trip on the bus to Archer, and you have to worry about getting to the fridge fast enough so that your food won’t melt.”

The store will be across the street from Heavener Hall at The Standard, a new development that will also house a Chick-fil-A and a Bento Cafe.

“The businesses forming within The Standard will bring us closer to our goal of 3,500 new jobs, $218 million in new salaries and $250 million in capital investment to Gainesville by 2020,” said Alyssa Brown, the director of communications and marketing for the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce.

The Target location will be 23,459 square feet, compared to typical Target stores at 130,000 square feet. This will be one of Target’s new “flexible-format” stores, designed for spaces in college campuses and densely populated areas, Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker wrote in an email.

The store will include a Starbucks and a CVS Pharmacy, four blocks from the CVS at Social 28, which does not include a pharmacy.