Brookings finally has its Target.
The big-box retailer will build in Brookings beginning this year, according to Brookings city officials.
The city of Brookings announced late last month that Target will be the big-box retailer entering the Brookings Marketplace development north of Sixth Street and east of Interstate 29 by Whiskey Creek restaurant.
The land will include an Aldi grocery store, a national furniture retailer, a fuel station and restaurants. The new addition of Target, boasting 127,000 square feet, will be the plot’s anchor tenant.
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation currently has nearly 2,000 stores across the United States, with about 30 near college campuses, according to the company website.
“I am extremely proud and excited to make this announcement,” Mayor Opeke “Ope” Niemeyer said in a press release from the city of Brookings. “The city of Brookings has been working to bring Target here for several years… I’m looking forward to celebrating the groundbreaking in 2025.”
Construction on the marketplace is expected to start in the spring of 2025 and finish in 2026.
The development was approved by a city election on Jan. 30 last year, allowing city leaders to sell the property to Ryan Companies to develop the plot of land into the Brookings Marketplace.
According to the Brookings Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), the Brookings Marketplace is expected to support 148 jobs. During the two-year period, it will offer 311 construction-related jobs.
The estimated cost of the project will be $80.9 million.
Brookings City Manager, Paul Briseno, says they are working closely with Ryan and Marketplace tennants in order to secure a strong partnership within the community.
“Brookings is open for business, and we look forward to continuing to be the choice for businesses of all kinds to expand to,” Briseno said.
The BEDC also found in their surveys conducted since 2013, that Target has been the top retailer requested by respondents in 2019 and 2024. The other choices also included Aldi and Kohl’s.
“Target will be nice to have another clothing place to shop at—they have household stuff [and] could provide more options,” said Lauren Gehrke, freshman animal science pre-vet major.
Deputy Mayor Nick Wendell said he hopes the marketplace will cut retail “leakage” a situation that occurs when locals leave town to shop in places such as Sioux Falls and Watertown.
“I know neighboring communities (Aurora, Elkton and Volga) will be excited when they no longer have to drive nearly an hour to shop at two of their favorite retailers,” Wendell said in a press release from the city of Brookings.
The Brookings Marketplace will also generate a large sales tax revenue, which currently makes up about 45% of the city’s annual budget and helps pay for public services such as public safety, and parks and recreation.
According to Niemeyer and Wendell in a Brookings press release, the development reflects the city’s ongoing commitment to economic development as demonstrated through recent initiatives like the Downtown Brookings Master Plan.
Niemeyer said this development is a “once-in-a-generation project.”
“The Brookings Marketplace development project represents an investment in the Brookings community, and it has the potential to bring significant economic, social and quality of life enhancements,” Niemeyer said.
Luke Panther, senior geographic information systems major, says “It’s good for students down the road… The Aldi’s is cool too. Brookings is really going places.”


