Target seeks to fill 250 jobs at Santa Rosa job fair next week

With its new store set to open at Coddingtown Mall in October, Target will host a job fair next week seeking up to 250 employees for its newest retail establishment in Santa Rosa.

The hiring and the upcoming store opening are seen as good news for the west-side shopping center that opened a half-century ago.

“It sets the stage for further revival at Coddingtown,” said Ben Stone, executive director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board..

The three-day job fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 7 to 9 at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

“The job fair will focus on recruiting candidates for hourly team member positions,” Target spokeswoman Kristen Emmons said in a statement.

However, Target’s job website also lists a limited number of management positions for the Santa Rosa area.

The Minneapolis-based retail chain, which operates 1,925 stores in the U.S. and Canada, doesn’t release pay or benefit information, Emmons said. “We place a priority on ensuring our compensation packages are competitive with retail and other service industries in the communities we serve,” she said.

The makeup of Target’s workforce received considerable scrutiny when the city planning commission reviewed and eventually approved the project in 2012. After some initial confusion, which sparked a second hearing, a Target spokesman reported that between 35 and 45 percent of store staff work full time, with the balance being part-timers.

The Coddingtown store has scheduled its grand opening on Oct. 12, Emmons said. Most of the staff will report to the store in September for orientation and training.

The company encourages job seekers to apply online in advance at Target.com/careers.

Sonoma County’s Job Link program has been spreading the news about the upcoming job fair to its clients.

“I think this is great that they’re bringing a new store in,” said Job Link Manager Jessica Taylor.

For Codding Enterprises, which owns the shopping mall with partner Simon Property Group, the new store is part of a larger effort to redevelop Coddingtown.

The changes began to take shape in 2008 when the former Ralph’s supermarket building was demolished to make way for the Whole Foods Market that now sits near the center’s northwest corner. And nearly two years ago construction workers knocked down a former Gottschalk’s department store to clear a site for Target.

On the center’s north side, five eateries have been added: BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jack’s Urban Eats and Sea Noodle Grill.

To the east of the mall, construction workers are building a new Dick’s Sporting Goods store on the site formerly occupied by the Los Robles Lodge.

Kirstie Moore, development manager for Codding Enterprises, said the renovation is well underway. “Target is obviously a critical piece of that,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit