For months, with retailers struggling and the economy slow to rebound, local officials have been anxiously awaiting word from Target about the fate of the proposed East Liberty store.

This week they got the answer: It's a go.

Target's capital expenditure committee signed off on the project Tuesday, the last internal step needed before the retailer could move ahead with construction of the store.

"It's the news we've been waiting for," said Steve Mosites, president of developer Mosites Co.

While the East Liberty store has been widely considered a fait accompli for some time, there have been some nervous moments triggered by Target's announcement last fall that it intended to scale back 2009 openings and cancel some projects that no longer made financial sense.

"There was definitely a great deal of anticipation. Without this, we couldn't take it to the next level and get it closed and get it started," said Mark Minnerly, Mosite's director of real estate development.

With the committee's approval, the developer hopes to complete site work for the store by June and turn the five-acre parcel over to Target for construction.

If all goes according to plan, the store should open in June 2011. The store would be one of only nine in the country two stories tall and would be the only one with windows in sections of the sales floor, a design feature Target added to accommodate city officials.

Hadley Barrows, a Target spokeswoman, would neither confirm nor deny the capital expenditure committee approval but said the retailer was "excited about the possibility of bringing a new store" to East Liberty, adding that it was "committed to the area."

"At this time it would be premature to confirm our timing or to speculate on our future plans," she said.

Before work can begin, Mosites still must complete the financing for the project. Part of the package is expected to include new markets tax credits. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also has authorized a $10 million loan and a $2 million grant for the project, said Rob Stephany, executive director of the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Neither he nor Mr. Minnerly, who would not reveal the store's price tag, expected the completion of financing to be a problem, particularly now that Target has signed off on the project.

"At this point, it's a matter of finalizing all that stuff and getting it to the closing," Mr. Stephany said.

The new Target store would be part of a burgeoning East Liberty commercial district that includes a Whole Foods market, a Borders bookstore, a Home Depot and smaller shops.

Mr. Minnerly said the project was being watched nationally, both because of economic conditions and its location.

"In this economy, it is significant doing an urban retail deal," he said.

The city also is undertaking $7 million in infrastructure improvements around the store that include the conversion of Penn Circle South and Penn Circle East from one-way to two-way traffic. There also will be sidewalk, crosswalk, lighting and curb improvements.

The work is being funded by a $2 million tax increment financing plan, with 75 percent of the property tax revenue generated by Target used to pay off the debt; another $2.5 million from a previously approved TIF plan for the nearby Bakery Square development; and a $2 million state capital grant secured by the city.

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