Bowdeya Tweh

btweh@enquirer.com

Target plans to open a new, smaller format store near the University of Cincinnati's campus next year, the company said on its website.

The discount retail chain wants to open a store in a 17,770-square-foot space in the U Square @ the Loop development in July. The store's address will be 235 Calhoun St., which is located near the corner of Calhoun and South Market Street in Clifton Heights.

In the new Cincinnati location, Target will sell items from the following categories: fresh groceries, home decor, merchandise from local sports teams, health and beauty, men’s and women’s apparel and accessories and tech accessories. In addition to groceries, the store will sell grab-and-go offerings and quick meal options. The home decor items will focus on items for dorm rooms and apartment living. The new location will also offer Target Mobile and order pick-up.

Adding one of the nation's largest retailers is a coup for the U Square development, which opened in fall 2013 as a mixed-use destination featuring more than 75,000 square feet of space for shops and restaurants, 40,000 square feet of office space, 151 apartments and two parking garages. UC occupies all of U Square's office space.

Target's announcement comes less than a week after the $14 million, 115-room Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel opened nearby at 2500 Market St.

Mount Adams-based Towne Properties, Downtown's Al. Neyer and Castellini Management Co. and the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. have ownership stakes in the U Square development.

“We’re delighted to welcome Target to U Square at the Loop,” said Arn Bortz, principal at Towne Properties. "Its arrival will enhance the quality of life for the university community, the hospital community and the Uptown neighborhood for years to come."

The new UC store will be Target’s first flexible-format location in Cincinnati. Target is pushing into college campuses and other urban locations after rival Wal-Mart abandoned plans to add to its portfolio of smaller urban stores. The retailer has only one full-size store opening in 2017, when it debuts a 126,000-square-foot store in suburban Houston, according to its website.

The company currently operates 23 flexible-format stores and will continue to open additional locations. Eighteen flexible-format stores have been announced to open in 2016 and 2017. In addition to UC, Target is also planning new stores near the campuses of Penn State University, University of Florida, University of North Carolina, University of California, and Ohio State University.

However, the UC store would be among the smallest Target flexible format stores being operated; normally, they are at least 20,000 square feet in size.

In August, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. cut its profit forecast and a key sales outlook as it saw fewer customers in its stores in the second quarter and said it didn't push the second part of its "Expect More, Pay Less" slogan.

The discounter's second-quarter profit fell nearly 10 percent, though that was better than what most analysts expected. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.1 percent, reversing seven straight quarters of gains.

Customer traffic also fell for the first time in a year and a half as Target struggled to get its grocery offerings right and shoppers looking for deals on essentials like detergent were turned off. Other issues, both company-specific and industrywide, ranged from a lack of new electronics for sale and lingering disruptions caused by the sale last year of its pharmacy business to CVS.

Target joins retailers such as department store chain Macy's that are struggling with fewer customers coming in as shoppers buy more online. The bright spots in retail have been T.J. Maxx's parent company TJX Cos. and Home Depot as consumers look for clothing bargains and focus more on their homes.

Under CEO Brian Cornell, Target has been trying to reinvigorate itself restore its cheap-chic status after a series of headline-grabbing setbacks such as a 2013 data breach. The company is focusing on categories like fashion, home decor and wellness products, creating vignettes featuring home products and launching the children's line Cat & Jack.

But striking the right balance between stylish clothing and bedspreads while offering toothpaste and detergent at good prices has been tricky.

The Associated Press contributed.