Target anticipated to anchor South Norman development

A proposed development could soon reshape southeast Norman.

Armstrong Bank, along with development partners Sooner Investments and Lockwood Development, has proposed an updated Planned Unit Development for a 40-acre site south of the Walmart Supercenter at Classen Boulevard (Highway 77) and Cedar Lane Road.

Armstrong Bank first rezoned the site through a PUD in late 2023. At the time, the only confirmed use was for a new Armstrong Bank branch, while the remainder of the site was laid out with speculative uses, including a mix of retail strips, restaurants, offices, multifamily apartments, senior living, and two big-box retail spaces.

Engineering site plan for the proposed South Norman development overlaid on an aerial, showing building pads, parking, and drives across the red-outlined parcel (2023 version).

The new plan, currently working through the city approval process, removes all housing developments in favor of two larger big-box spaces.

Updated 2024 site plan for the South Norman development overlaid on an aerial, with refined building footprints and parking.

The main anchor will occupy 12.5 acres of the site, with a store spanning over 128,000 square feet. For comparison, the Walmart Supercenter to the north spans nearly 190,000 square feet.

“This is a major premier retailer in our nation that a lot of communities would want in their community,” said Sean Rieger, attorney representative of the developers, at the Norman Planning Commission presentation Thursday.

Though developers and their representatives would not confirm the retailer that will occupy the development, Norman Development has learned it is anticipated to be Target.

2024 site plan labeled with uses: an anticipated Target, a 64,000 sq ft big-box, a 36,000 sq ft big-box, Armstrong Bank, sit-down and drive-thru restaurants, retail, and office.

The proposed location would be about 50,000 square feet smaller than the existing Super Target location in University North Park and similar in size to the Target location in Moore.

Street-level photo of the existing Target at University North Park — a brick storefront with Target and grocery signage and rows of red shopping carts.

The store will have a dedicated curbside pickup area on the south side of the building, similar to other recent Target locations.

The company currently operates over 1,950 locations across the United States, including 15 Oklahoma locations. Target announced in early 2024 that it plans to add over 300 new locations in the next decade to enhance its “stores-as-hubs” model.

Sooner Investments, one of the developers of the project, was also the developer of University Town Center in UNP and Town Center Plaza in Midwest City. Both developments are anchored by Target stores.

Plans still show Armstrong Bank occupying the same site along Classen Boulevard for their new branch, likely consolidating the East Norman and Noble locations.

Street-level photo of a typical new Armstrong Bank branch — a two-story brick building with digital signage and a drive-through.

Developers stated there are no confirmed tenants for the remaining buildings but hinted at an interested user in the 64,000-square-foot big-box space north of the anticipated Target.

The roads inside the development will all be privately maintained, a change from the previous 2023 proposal. Two access points will be off Classen Boulevard, one of which is proposed to be signalized, with an access drive winding through the development to 24th Avenue Southeast.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation controls traffic signals on Classen Boulevard since it is a state highway. At the time of pre-development, the developers had not received approval for the proposed traffic signal.

The area has seen a surge of development in the last few years. In February, City Council approved a new luxury RV resort dubbed Liberty Point that is surrounded by additional commercial developments fronting Classen Boulevard. Just across Post Oak Road into Noble, dirt work continues on several single-family housing additions.

Aerial overview of the South Norman area showing the anticipated Target site and future Liberty Point RV Park outlined in red, near Walmart and the Cedar Lane neighborhood.

The Armstrong Bank rezoning will likely be heard by the City Council by the end of the year. No timeline was made available on when construction could begin.