A Target at Wards Corner? A deal is in the works, civic organization leaders say.

Norfolk’s Wards Corner neighborhood could be close to getting a major national retailer.

Norfolk developer Kotarides Cos. has been negotiating with Target for years to bring a store to the former Kroger location at 201 E. Little Creek Road, according to civic organization leaders around Wards Corner.

Norfolk Vice Mayor Martin Thomas first approached Target at a Las Vegas trade show about two years ago, Wards Corner Civic League President Scott Guirlinger said in an email. Thomas introduced Target representatives to Kotarides, which had been looking for a tenant for the Kroger space since the store left in 2018.

Thomas told the Meadowbrook Civic League that the parties were getting closer to a deal, according to October meeting minutes provided to The Virginian-Pilot. The civic league’s president, Jean Swartz, confirmed Target was being considered for the E. Little Creek Road location in an email.

The location has 136,000 square feet of space, making it big enough for Target, which is typically about 130,000 square feet, according to the company.

Kotarides’ director of commercial properties, Chris Good, declined to comment on the negotiations. Target spokesperson Caroline Robinson said in an email the company does not have any information on new stores.

The Kroger in Wards Corner closed on Nov. 17, 2018, due to diminishing sales and profitability, after opening in 2000. Norfolk officials said in 2017 that Kroger was planning to build a large store at a former Kmart location at 6101 N. Military Hwy., but it never materialized.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com