On Target: Exploring Columbia Heights' New Store

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"IT'S IMMACULATE."

Such was one of the high complements that punctuated the din of whirring shopping carts and shuffling feet at the Target store in Columbia Heights on its very first day in business. The pronouncement above came from a woman in her 30s who was pushing a cart near the store's grocery section. Her male companion responded with an emphatic, "Mmm-hmmm."

I arrived with the lunchtime crowd, hours after the store's doors first opened for business. The customers I encountered seemed in turns eager, excited and nonplussed at the notion of shopping where no shopping had been done before.

I fit more into the category of the curious.

Like many D.C. residents, I'd followed the saga of the Columbia Heights Target for years. My interest was piqued way back in 2001, when word that the store would open just blocks away was one of the bits of information that helped lure me out of my native Virginia to a moderately priced efficiency apartment in Adams Morgan.

As I passed the alleged site of said big-box installation, which sat between my apartment on Lanier Place and the Columbia Heights Metrorail station, I found a scene reminiscent of photos I'd found in history books of Berlin circa 1945. The crumbling buildings included a U.S. post office, reduced to rubble except for its facade, which cut into the sky like a jagged stone razor blade.

The rubble was eventually cleared, leaving only the facades and a vacant lot, surrounded by a fence. Which sat. And sat. And sat.

I left Adams Morgan in 2005 with nary a big red bullseye in sight.

But the Columbia Heights I knew back then wasn't a thing like the sparkling, bustling hub you see now. A Five Guys is poised to open in what was once an empty lot near the Metro escalators. The post office facade is now part of the exterior of a still-unopened Best Buy. And, of course, there's the Target itself.

The store sits on the second floor of the new DC USA complex, which is located at the corner of 14th and Irving streets NW. It looks, not surprisingly, a lot like every other Target I've seen, except more freshly stocked. And a kind of new store smell pervades the place, lending to its overall feeling of crispness.

If there was any hubbub that surrounded this morning's opening, it had mostly dissipated by afternoon. I perused the grocery section, looked for sales in the men's clothes department (I didn't see any) and glanced warily at the electronics I promised myself I wouldn't buy. The crowd was larger than usual for midday on a Wednesday, but not the crush of people I'd expected.

Two of the faces in that crowd belonged to Kiana Herring and Antyon Miles, who were part of a group that included at least two bags of purchases and a baby stroller. They said they were pleased with what they found.

"It's good," Herring said of the store. "Better than the one in [Prince George's County]," where she'd previously done her shopping.

Among the bells and whistles are elevators and escalators to ferry patrons between the store's two levels, including a special set of escalators to transport shopping carts. This, I found fascinating. But I might be alone in that.

Shopper Michael Johnson, a D.C. resident, had compliments for the store's setup. "It was nice," he said. "I like the layout and the way they crafted the whole building."

He cited the entryway as particularly pleasant, but seemed less impressed when I brought up the cart escalators.

"Yeah, I've seen that in other Targets."

Oh. Guess I've got to get out more.

Lewis Francis, who works across the street, came to the store in search of lunch, but left with a cup of coffee instead.

"I was surprised there was a Starbucks in there since there's one right across the street," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting more restaurant options nearby."

Was my trip to the Columbia Heights Target the life-altering experience I expected seven years ago? Not quite. But seeing the store in working order was a sure sign that the neighborhood's evolution has reached a new benchmark, one that will bring with it a new burst of interest from consumers across the city. Which will, in turn, likely spur on even further change.

If you want to sample the store's food, coffee or stock, you'll probably want to try doing it during the week. An official grand opening — complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Mayor Adrian Fenty — will likely draw big crowds this weekend.

Photos by Greg Barber/Express