By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com

The company that owns Riverbirch Corner has plans to put a Target store at the location as part of a large scale redevelopment of the aging shopping center, The Rant has learned. The placement of the store is contingent on financial aid from local government.

Sanford city government issued a notice Wednesday stating that a public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16 to consider a financial incentive for Ohio-based commercial developer CASTO, which purchased Riverbirch in 2022, to redevelop the site with Target as an anchor, as well as a “new to market grocery store.” Public hearings are required by state law when a business requests government funds in exchange for locating or expanding in a given area.

Additionally, CASTO has submitted redevelopment plans to the Sanford-Lee County Planning Department which show the site on Spring Lane would be almost entirely demolished and replaced with several new commercial buildings ranging in size from 3,000 square feet to 128,000 square feet.

The project would have the potential to transform that part of west Sanford if it were approved and undertaken. The development would be anchored by a 128,000 square foot commercial space where the shopping center backs up to U.S. Highway 1, as well as a new 53,000 square foot building near the location of Riverbirch’s current Belk men’s store (formerly Winn-Dixie). The building that currently houses Belk’s back half – commonly known as the women’s Belk – is one of the only structures currently part of Riverbirch that wouldn’t be demolished (a 900 square foot building at the edge of the property on Spring Lane would also remain).

The plans show six other new commercial spaces, as well as a new secondary exit from the property onto Spring Lane just east of the existing entrance.

Proposed blueprint that shows buildings for Target (far left), several other retail stores, a grocery store (far right) and a gas station accompanying that store.

The proposal will be reviewed by the Planning Department’s Technical Review Committee at a meeting on September 25. The TRC is comprised comprised of local officials from various city and county government entities representing Sanford, Lee County and Broadway, and meets monthly to review commercial projects and major subdivisions for compliance with the codes and policies of various local departments. Submission to TRC, or even approval of plans by TRC, isn’t necessarily a sign that a given project will move forward – the step only ensures that proposals meet local development standards. Proposals can also be amended due to recommendations or requests from the TRC.

This is the second time CASTO has submitted redevelopment plans for Riverbirch. The first was in August 2023, and would have seen the construction of a mixed-use project that included residential space. Sources explained to The Rant that that proposal proved financially unworkable for a number of reasons. The new plans are entirely commercial.

The notice issued by city government refers to the project as “a blighted commercial property,” estimates the cost of the project at $64 million, and says the city would be responsible for $4 million of that total. An information page on the city’s website says the store could open in 2027 if the parties all agree to move forward.

CASTO owns dozens of shopping center properties in Ohio, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina — many of them anchored by large retailers like Kroger, Target, Kohl’s and others.

Rendering of what other stores in the new Riverbirch Center would look like (business names in rendering are generic and for design purposes only).

Rumors about the future of Riverbirch – which opened in the 1980s and declined significantly beginning in the late 2000s — have been abundant in recent years. Jim Womack, chairman of the Lee County Republican Party, addressed the county Board of Commissioners in December of last year about talk that a “major retailer” was considering the location, and urged the members to oppose any public funding of such a project.

A former economic developer who also attended that meeting in December said a major retailer at Riverbirch would have a significant impact on the local economy.

“We have more than 500 communities in the United States that are our size, and all of them are using incentives in some form to attract businesses,” said Bob Joyce, a former economic developer with the Sanford Area Growth Alliance. “Generally, we have not incentivized retail, but for special, one-off projects, other communities have done this. And I would say we could take a look at many examples, even in the state of North Carolina, for these large cap investments that have the potential to increase very significantly our sales tax revenue.”