Target sets opening date for St. Louis region’s largest store in University City

Target’s biggest store in the St. Louis region is set to bring more than 170 jobs to University City, and the 149,000-square-foot format will demand a wider mix of skills than a typical box. The company plans to open the new Target at 8645 Olive Blvd. on Sunday, May 17, with an Apple at Target, CVS Pharmacy and Starbucks Café under one roof.

That scale matters for the people who will run it. A store this large, with Drive Up, Order Pickup and same-day delivery through Target Circle 360, will require more cross-trained team members on the front end, in fulfillment, on the sales floor and in specialty areas. For current employees, a larger format usually means more chances to move into higher-complexity work, from guest services and digital order handling to specialty brand areas that need tighter product knowledge and faster handoffs.

The University City location will be Target’s 21st store in the St. Louis region and the largest of six new stores the chain plans to open in May. Target said five of the six new openings are larger than its average 125,000-square-foot store, a sign that the company is leaning into formats that can support more services, more inventory and more labor-intensive operations. The six openings are part of Target’s more than $5 billion capital investment plan for 2026, which includes more than 30 new stores this year and more than 300 by 2035.

For nearby stores, the opening could shift daily workloads as shoppers move to the new location at Market at Olive, the 47-acre, Costco-anchored development that stretches along both sides of Olive Boulevard between Interstate 170 and McKnight/Woodson Roads. A larger store with a two-story parking garage and a broader service mix may pull in some traffic that would otherwise land at neighboring Targets, while also creating a regional hub for transfers, training and advancement.

The project has been years in the making. Target bought a 7.5-acre site in August 2024, broke ground on Aug. 19, 2024, and initially pointed to an April 2026 opening before moving the date to May 17. The store will also carry a local touch: a mural by artist Jayvn Solomon will depict University City landmarks and music and cultural highlights, giving the chain’s largest St. Louis-area location a nod to the community it is hiring from.