CHUBBUCK — The Pine Ridge Mall area could look vastly different in the near future if plans from an Arizona-based commercial realty group ultimately become a reality.

Don Zebe, a commercial real estate broker for Colliers Eastern Idaho, says SimonCRE, a commercial real estate acquisition and development company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has plans to purchase the Pine Ridge Mall property and embark on a rather massive redevelopment project that in a perfect world could bring one of the nation’s largest retailers — Target — to the Gate City area.

Josh Simon, the founder and chief executive officer of SimonCRE, told the Idaho State Journal during a Friday phone interview that he’s still about two months out from announcing exact details surrounding the purchase but confirmed plans are in the works.

“We are still working on some details and there is still much more that needs to be figured out,” Simon said. “We’re still probably about 60 days out from announcing anything officially.”

Simon did say that the redevelopment project is one that could take some time to reach completion, similar to other overhauls of this nature, adding that the plan should not be cause for alarm for current Pine Ridge Mall tenants.

Zebe on Friday provided some preliminary details surrounding the plan and how it could impact businesses in and around the large brick-and-mortar retail hub.

If the plan materializes, Zebe said some existing businesses would be excluded from the purchase, including the Pine Ridge Mall spaces occupied by Hobby Lobby, Planet Fitness, C-A-L Ranch and the Gem Prep charter school as well as businesses on the Pine Ridge Mall property but not located inside the mall such as Panera Bread, Red Robin, Discount Tire, Panda’s Express and Olive Garden.

The project would involve redesigning Pine Ridge Mall space east of Planet Fitness into a site that could house up to five retail stores, potentially relocating JCPenney from its current home to the space that once housed Macy’s (located directly north of Hobby Lobby) and retrofitting the space north of what once housed Macy’s into sites for up to three other mid-size retailers, Zebe said.

The plan also calls for the addition of multiple retail pad sites to be constructed in areas that are currently parking spaces for Pine Ridge Mall patrons.

Furthermore, the project would call for the remaining Pine Ridge Mall space to have a date with a wrecking ball, which could free up 68,000 square feet for the addition of a large retailer.

The Journal asked both Zebe and Simon to address whether or not that large space could be the future home of a Target store and both said they could “neither confirm nor deny” whether the nation’s seventh-largest retailer has its sights set on the Pocatello-Chubbuck area.

Whether or not this plan becomes a reality remains a mystery but the community should know more by late spring or early summer.