Ryan Cos. of Minneapolis, the general contractor, has been working with Target throughout the design and site selection process. The Minneapolis-based retailer, with a 1,109 stores, looked at several sites in Minnesota and Iowa before settling on Cedar Rapids. The city won the bid due to its available workforce, growing industrial sector and strong highway access. The site is in the city's southwest corridor at the intersection of Viking and Hudson roads.

The distribution center will deliver in spring 2003, pending city approval of site plans, building permits and a development agreement. Target may conduct some operations from the site in fall 2002, but it won't be fully operational until 2003. The distribution hub will service stores in Iowa and surrounding states, including the new SuperTarget that opened last week in nearby Waterloo.

Target's proposed distribution center will be the second largest in the region, outsized only by the 21-year-old, two million-sf John Deere Tractor Works in Waterloo. Target is planning to man the warehouse with about 900 employees, with hiring set to get under way in early 2003.