Target in Iowa City celebrates grand opening on Sunday

Target's downtown Iowa City location will hold its grand opening Sunday.

The small-format store, with a 24,000-square-foot layout at 113 E Washington St., is a fraction of the size of a usual 130,000-square-foot Target store.

It will carry a mix of groceries, home decor, personal hygiene and beauty products, and alcoholic beverages.

Its hours will be from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.

The store, which had a soft opening on Wednesday, added 50 jobs to Iowa City.

Nancy Bird, executive director of Iowa City Downtown District, told The Gazette the addition of Target is a 'game-changer” for downtown.

Store Director Kaitlin Schager, a University of Iowa alumna, told The Gazette the store includes many aspects of the former Yonkers store that was in that space, including the flooring and front paneling.

Target now has more than 120 small-format stores across the country, largely in urban neighborhoods and college campuses.

Comments: (319) 398-8394; john.steppe@thegazette.com