It was almost exactly a year ago that Whole Foods abandoned their longtime home on the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in favor of a larger, fancier space a couple blocks away in the Dalian on the Park building. Before that move occurred though, Target, uh, already had the former Whole Foods location in their sights for yet another mini-Target location, the fourth such location announced in town. And now, after some major renovation efforts, the new Target has opened its doors.

We’ve visited the other mini-Target locations on Chestnut Street, and this one felt like the largest of the bunch. The building has about 38K sqft of space, which makes it about a third of the size of a typical Target these days, but the South Philly Target certainly doesn’t seem to be three times the size. Perhaps the space feels extra large because it’s all located on one floor, it has very high ceilings, and there are plenty of windows that draw in natural light. Who knew that windows in a Target could make such a difference?

The product mix confirms that this Target is indeed larger than its sister stores on Chestnut Street. The clothing department is markedly larger than than the other locations, and the tech department actually has some televisions for sale. The grocery section also felt like it was larger than the other locations, or maybe it was just the layout that made it feel larger. We repeatedly found ourselves trying to remember the layout of the old Whole Foods, which had a much more claustrophobic feel, but the design is so different that it was a bit of a struggle. Here, check out these photos of the interior to see what we mean:

Perhaps the best part of our visit was the fact that the parking lot was mostly empty, as word hasn’t really gotten out that the Target was finally open. Sadly, it seems that the parking lot has not undergone a redesign, and we imagine it will resume being a hassle to navigate on weekends. So it goes. For folks who live nearby and don’t need to drive, this new Target is a great amenity that will surely make life just a little bit easier. We still wish the owners would have torn down the building and constructed something with height and density, but it seems we’ll have to wait at least until this Target runs its course. Who knows, maybe in twenty years, Whole Foods will move to the shiniest new building in the neighborhood, Target will move to the Dalian, and we’ll see something new and exciting at this location.