Officials: Target sacks plans for Marion's project

MARION, Ill. (AP) -- Marion's hopes for attracting a Target distribution center have been dashed.

Officials with the southern Illinois city say the Minneapolis-based retailer has canceled plans to build the center, given the nation's faltering economy.

Marion apparently was a finalist for the center, which officials say would have meant about 600 jobs. But Marion city engineer Glenn Clarida says a consulting firm to Target told him this week that all plans for a new facility have been canceled.

Mayor Robert Butler calls the decision disappointing but not altogether unexpected.

He says the city will try to lure someone else to the property that already has undergone tens of thousands of dollars in impact studies and infrastructure upgrades.