HERMITAGE, Pa. – A city official said he anticipates vertical construction should get underway later this month on a new Target store, the anchor tenant of the new Hickory Fields development.

Just under a year ago, representatives of Ohio-based Flicore LLC joined city officials to announce plans for the development at the site of the former Shenango Valley Mall, which a Flicore affiliate purchased in 2022.

The project would include three new restaurants – Chick-fil-A, Chili’s and Longhorn Steakhouse – and a “Minnesota-headquartered, publicly traded, national brand general merchandise retailer with nearly 2,000 locations” the renderings and other descriptors suggested to be Target, which the retailer officially confirmed in September. 

Mark Longietti, Hermitage director of business and community development, said Target has not provided any timelines to the city, but its general contractor, Engelsma Construction Inc., Minneapolis, has been on-site since Nov. 4, when a pre-construction meeting took place.

“Crews have been performing site preparation work, with vertical construction anticipated to begin in late January 2026,” he said. The Target store “may be completed and open for business around March 2027,” he added.

Representatives for Target and Flicore said they did not have any updates on the project when contacted in late December.

Land development plans for the three restaurants have been approved, though construction has not begun on those – nor have timelines been provided for any of them – Longietti said. Those projects are “significantly smaller” than the 130,000-square-foot Target store to be built, “so some openings may occur in late 2026,” he said.

Representatives of Chick-fil-A, Chili’s and Longhorn Steakhouse did not respond to inquiries via phone or email.

Jim Bombeck, executive director of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged the nostalgia associated with the mall. Redevelopment of the property will represent “a rebirth,” he said. The closing of the mall gave the community fewer retail choices, a void that the opening of Target will help fill.  

“As much as we appreciated the mall, that property had been needing some love for quite a while,” Bombeck said. “It’s just a sign of rebirth and a rejuvenation that we’ve needed for quite a while.”

Forbes Excavating, New Castle, is performing stormwater work as part of the Hickory Fields Boulevard construction project, Longietti said. The new roadway, which will come off the existing East State Street roundabout and bisect the Hickory Fields property adjacent to the Target site, is slated for completion this spring.

Flicore also has donated and transferred two lots totaling approximately 8 acres to Hermitage to be used for community purposes, he said.  

“The city will develop plans for these lots over the course of time and as the Hickory Fields development progresses,” Longietti said. 

Bombeck said there is “a lot of anticipation” surrounding the development. He also acknowledged “some frustration” among members of the general public who might have assumed the Target store would be “up and running” sooner than it will be. He had heard from someone he declined to identify that the retailer wouldn’t be open until late 2027.

“Yeah, there’s lots of excitement about that. Again, it gives us something new, something we’ve never had in this area,” he said. “Everybody I’ve talked to is excited about the possibility and the excitement of a Target coming, for sure.”

Pictured at top: A rendering of retail space at Hickory Fields.