T.J. Maxx sets May 17 opening date in Hazard

The timing gives the project a clear next step after more than a year of work following the groundbreaking for the broader cluster of stores. For Hazard, that matters because this is not a standalone opening. It is part of a larger retail buildout that city leaders have been watching as the Black Gold Plaza area takes shape on the Hazard side of town.

The new store adds another national name to the city’s shopping mix and expands the list of options available without a trip to another market. The broader development has been described as a retail redevelopment that is expected to include TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Dollar Tree, Five Below and a GoTime gas station, a combination that could pull more routine spending back toward Hazard.

That is the practical change for Perry County. When shoppers can pick up clothing, gifts and other household needs in town, more of those dollars are likely to stay local instead of flowing out along the highway to bigger retail centers. The opening also adds a new stop on the growing commercial corridor around Black Gold Boulevard, where traffic patterns are already shifting as one project after another moves from plans to storefronts.