Yes, eager shoppers, you may soon be able to get Giada DiLaurentiis bakeware and other Target bargains right in the heart of S.F. The Planning Commission yesterday voted 5-2 to approve the CityPlace Mall project, which is planned as a "value retail" center that might have Target as an anchor tenant. (Target is also looking at Geary and Masonic.) Because the approval was still up in the air, the developer has not yet signed deals with retailers, but those names are sure to come out soon.

The new mall will go in a block up from the Westfield mall, on that now completely dead and barren stretch of Market between 5th and 6th (the 7-11 and Pearl art store both vacated in advance of all this, and those buildings are set for tear-down along with the former Social Security office and the St. Francis Cinema).

As the Chron reports, the commissioners had a few concerns about the parking structure planned for the mall, but all in all everyone acknowledged that something major has to happen to revitalize this section of Market. Say what you will about malls, but we know more than a few people who will run, not walk, when this Target opens.