a brief update of upcoming development in our area
Here’s a brief update of upcoming development in our area.
The Planning and Zoning Commission just recommended approval for three separate projects that will reshape the southwest corridor. First up is Drake Ranch, a high-end subdivision planned for nearly 1,500 acres of land off SR 200 near the Withlacoochee River. We are talking about 40 lots where each one will run you north of a million dollars. The developer calls it a Conservation PUD, which means they are clustering homes on a small footprint and leaving most of the land untouched. County staff actually recommended denial over concerns about traffic and the decision to use wells and septic instead of county utilities. But the planning board saw it differently and gave the nod anyway. The County Commission gets the final vote.
Now here is what matters to folks living in Stone Creek and the surrounding 55-plus communities. Target is coming. The commission recommended rezoning about 24 acres behind the Walmart Neighborhood Market near 80th Avenue and 90th Street. That puts a full Target right in the heart of where retirees actually live and shop.
Now, before you get too excited about another shopping option, let me give you a little background on our friends from Minneapolis. Target Corporation is headquartered in Minnesota, right in the heart of one of the most progressive urban centers in America. This is the same city where the George Floyd situation unfolded, and Target used that tragedy as a launching pad for aggressive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. They pledged over two billion dollars to support various social causes and made DEI a centerpiece of their corporate identity.
Then came 2023. Target rolled out a Pride Month collection that included merchandise some customers found objectionable. There were items featuring satanic imagery mixed with rainbow themes, and products designed to help biological males conceal their anatomy. The backlash was swift and costly. Their stock took a hit, sales dropped more than five percent, and millions of Americans simply decided to shop elsewhere. Target pulled some of the merchandise and tried to walk back the controversy, which only made everyone mad at them from both directions.
Fast forward to January 2025, and Target did an about-face. Just days after the new administration took office, they announced they were ending their DEI programs, stopping participation in diversity surveys, and renaming their supplier diversity team. The timing was not lost on anyone. They had spent years telling customers how committed they were to progressive causes, then dropped those commitments faster than you can say quarterly earnings report. The founders’ family publicly criticized the company for betraying its values. Boycotts erupted again, this time from the other side. Store traffic dropped, the stock fell another twelve percent, and lawsuits followed.
So what does all this mean for folks here in Marion County? It means you will have a new place to buy household goods and groceries. Whether you choose to shop there is entirely your business. But it is worth knowing who you are doing business with and what they stand for, or at least what they claim to stand for until it becomes inconvenient.
Home Depot is also in the works. They want to set up behind the TownePlace Suites and Cody’s Roadhouse on 200. The land was recently rezoned for apartments, but now the push is to flip it back to commercial so the orange apron folks can move in.
For residents of southwest Marion County, this means more retail options without the drive into town. Whether that is progress or just more traffic depends on who you ask.