In what the popular retail and grocery store chain is calling a bull’s-eye view, Target has announced a new Bronx location.
The new red neon sign is set to go up at 1998 Bruckner Blvd. north of Castle Hill, in the Bruckner Commons shopping center, although the timeline is unclear. Target press officers did not respond to Bronx Times questions about when exactly the new 139,000-square-foot store would open.
The Bronx currently has four operating Targets — according to the company’s store locator — in Concourse, Throggs Neck, Marble Hill and Fordham Heights.
The last one to open on Fordham Road in the fall took the place of Dr. Jay’s, a local urban fashion retailer that closed in February 2020 because of high rent prices. Some expressed concern over that particular location along Fordham Road, mostly because of the business corridor’s seemingly rising crime and petty theft rates.
Addition of Target to Fordham Road raises questions for local economy and small businesses
But nonetheless, the Fordham Road location opened just before last holiday season in October 2022 — with Target employees pledging to cater to the needs of the Bronx community with that store, as well as add 100 team members to the local workforce.
According to prior reporting, Target has a history of donating to the communities it opens more businesses in. The company gave more than $600,000 worth of cash and merchandise to area nonprofits and local food banks in the Bronx in 2021.
Target also announced changes to its protocols this spring — according to Staten Island Live — which include plans to launch or expand 10 of its own brands and implement a drive-up return system to allow customers to return merchandise without actually coming into a store.
The Bruckner Boulevard location is one of nine new Target locations slated to open statewide. Other locations in New York City include Kings Plaza in Brooklyn, Queens’ Astoria section and three new Manhattan stores — one at Union Square, one in Chelsea and one in Harlem.
Target press officers did not answer questions about how much the new location on Bruckner Boulevard — a former Kmart — is slated to cost, or how many jobs will open with the new addition. According to the real estate analytics and news publication CoStar, the new Bruckner Commons Target is “part of a larger repositioning” that would increase the property value at the center.
There are Target branches in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. According to data from the company, 75% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Target store.
Clarification: This story was updated on July 18 to specify that the Bronx Riverdale location at 40 W. 225th St. on the Target locator website is actually in Marble Hill.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
