On September 14, Easley City Council gave final approval to the four ordinances behind a proposed Target on Calhoun Memorial Highway near Rock Springs Road. Most passed 4–3. Part of the site already had approval for 108 townhomes, and that option came up again and again, from the first work session to the final public comments.
That changes what the vote decided. Council chose a store over homes that could already be built. In return, the developer pays to rebuild a stretch of US 123. The rebuilt road will reach daily drivers before any shopping does.
The Parcel Already Had a Yes
The Pickens County Courier reported in May that county and city officials, plus one area property owner, confirmed plans for a Target on land behind QuikTrip and Rock Springs Baptist Church. The paper put the site at more than 30 acres.
At Council's July 13 work session, Armada Development said it owns parcels south of Freddy's and has a contract to buy the adjoining parcels beneath the QT site. It said the annexation and rezoning would support a Target "rather than the previously approved 108 townhome units."
The townhomes stayed central all the way to the final vote. In the September 14 minutes, one supporter said Target would bring in more tax revenue than the approved townhomes. Another said the site would likely become 108 townhomes otherwise. A third pointed to "the approved townhome alternative" when asking Council to weigh long-term analysis over surveys and social media.
Not everyone agreed. The Easley Planning Commission recommended denying the 12-acre annexation by a 3–1 vote, and Council discussed that recommendation before it voted.
How the Final Votes Fell
The package has four parts. Here is how each one ended on September 14:
| Ordinance | What it does | Final vote |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-22 | Annexes about 12.014 acres, General Commercial zoning | 4–3 |
| 2026-23 | Annexes about 3.813 acres, General Commercial zoning | 4–3 |
| 2026-24 | Rezones about 17.05 acres from General Residential to General Commercial | 5 named in favor, 2 opposed |
| 2026-25 | Development agreement with RT Calhoun Memorial, LLC | 4–3, as amended |
On the three 4–3 votes, Mayor Lisa Talbert and Councilmembers O'Shields, Rainey and Fedder voted yes. Councilmembers Searcy, Clark and Alexander voted no. The minutes record the rezoning as 4–3 as well, but they list Councilmember Clark among five members voting in favor. The table follows the named votes.
The Road Comes Before the Store
Most of what the development agreement in the City Council's September 2026 packet requires is road work. Before the store opens to the public, the developer has to build improvements on Calhoun Memorial Highway and a new access road. It also has to submit subdivision, site, grading and erosion-control plans. Before the city accepts the access road, the developer must provide a two-year warranty on it, backed by a warranty bond. If no Target store is built on the site, the city has no obligation to accept the road.
In July, the project engineer described the planned work on US 123:
- Added turn lanes and longer storage lanes so turning traffic has more room to wait
- A raised median
- Several access points, including right-in/right-out movements
- Better circulation behind the existing retail sites
- Internal traffic flow on the site redesigned
The engineer said SCDOT requires the signal timing for through traffic on Highway 123 to stay as it is. Any added traffic has to be absorbed through turn-lane storage and road design. In the same session, the engineer said the existing stormwater ponds would be combined into one larger pond behind the Target. City and state regulators would check that runoff after construction does not exceed pre-development flow rates.
The September 14 work session added more detail. A Citizen Portal meeting summary says engineer Will Rogen described SCDOT concurrence on the corridor improvements and a required 675-foot turn lane. He also described possible temporary restrictions tied to DOT permits, and construction phased to keep existing businesses reachable. The summary is AI-generated, not approved minutes. It also reports that the road must be operating and accepted by the city before the store can get its certificate of occupancy.
That order of events shapes the next two years. US 123 gets rebuilt first. The store can open only after the road is done.
The Easement Fight Is Narrower Than It Sounded
"Eminent domain" was the most heated phrase in the debate. The July work-session minutes describe it as possible eminent domain to remove an approval right that blocks changes to the access road. They also clarify that no physical taking of property was proposed as part of that action. The draft development agreement explains why the approval right matters. SCDOT's requirements make the project dependent on easement consent from landowners next to the access road, and the developer was unable to obtain that consent.
On August 10, Council voted 5–2 to authorize legal action to acquire the easement-consent rights needed to change the site access road. The final development agreement caps what the developer will repay the city for legal fees and costs in eminent-domain and condemnation actions at $50,000, up from the $25,000 in the draft included in the September packet. The minutes say the Target representative agreed to the change, and the amendment passed 7–0.
The access road also drew resident feedback. The Ward 4 councilmember surveyed constituents and got 120 responses, 56 of them with written comments. Asked whether the access road should become city-owned, 58.8% said no and 32.8% said yes. She said the results would guide her vote.
What the City Expects to Collect
The July estimates show what the city expects in return. Staff projected about $364,000 in initial fees and about $193,000 a year from business licenses, local option sales tax and property taxes. Staff said a $2 million city contribution could be recouped in about nine to ten years.
By September, that contribution had become a point of dispute. One speaker at the final hearing said the roughly $2 million city contribution had been removed. That is a speaker's account recorded in the minutes, not a published cost statement.
Business owners weighed in through the Easley Chamber of Commerce. Chamber president Dr. Brian Swords presented a survey that about 20% of members answered. Of those, 87% were concerned about traffic and congestion. Support was 82% when the related traffic improvements were included and 76% without them. Eighty-four percent expected a positive economic impact. Traffic was the top concern, and the road plan was what lifted support.
A Working Calendar for the Corridor
Here is the timeline on public record so far. Some dates are firmer than others.
- Now through December 31, 2026. SCDOT's road-conditions listing shows temporary lane closures for resurfacing on Calhoun Memorial Highway from US 178 to Adger Road, with an anticipated opening date of December 31, 2026. That work is separate from the Target project, and the listing is updated as conditions change.
- Early 2027. The Citizen Portal summary of the September 14 work session says the engineer targeted "early next year" to start construction. From a September 2026 meeting, that points to early 2027.
- About 18 months of construction. The same summary describes paving in two layers, with the first before the building goes up and the final layer after heavy construction traffic.
- Summer or fall 2028. The engineer's estimated opening. It depends on the city accepting the new road first.
- 2037–2043. The Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study's September 21 packet lists the wider Calhoun Memorial Highway corridor, from Brushy Creek Road to SC 153, in its mid-term program. That is a planning priority, not a construction commitment.
A few things remain unsettled. Target's corporate list of upcoming stores names three South Carolina locations, in Lexington, Rock Hill and Seneca, and Easley is not one of them. So far, the confirmation comes from local officials and the development team, not from Target. The October 12 Council agenda has no Target items. We found no public record yet of a groundbreaking date or of how the easement action turns out.
Until then, the nearest Target stores remain at 1112 Woodruff Road in Greenville and 6025 Wade Hampton Boulevard in Taylors.
If you own a home near Rock Springs Road or anywhere along the US 123 corridor and wonder how two years of road work and a planned big-box anchor could affect your plans, Linda O'Brien follows these Easley decisions closely and is glad to walk through them with you. Schedule Your Free Home Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
