Target’s Jersey City opening spotlights store prep and community ties

Before the doors opened at 381 Route 440, Target’s newest Jersey City store was already doing what matters most to workers: staffing up, training, and trying to make the first day feel controlled instead of chaotic. The 119,000-square-foot location opened to the public on May 17 after a VIP preview for local leaders and community partners, and Target says the store will employ more than 180 team members.

For those hires, the opening is about more than a headcount. A store of this size has to be ready to handle general merchandise, food, guest services, digital orders and front-end traffic all at once, while also keeping the floor stocked and the back room organized. That kind of opening typically puts pressure on every part of the operation, from onboarding and schedule building to inventory checks and guest-flow rehearsals. In a large urban store, the first week can establish the pace, service standards and coordination habits that carry into the rest of the year.

The Jersey City location is Target’s third store in the city and replaced a former Kmart site after the Jersey City Planning Board approved the project in May 2023. Its arrival also turns a long-anticipated redevelopment site into a day-to-day retail hub on Route 440, a corridor tied to west-side growth near Stadium Plaza, Bayfront redevelopment and the Hackensack River.

Target’s store listing shows the site open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and serving shoppers with Drive Up and Order Pickup. The store page also lists a Starbucks cafe and CVS Pharmacy, details that matter for team members because those features add more moving parts to a store that already has to serve in-person traffic, online fulfillment and local demand for convenience. Target says next-day delivery is available to all of Jersey City from the Route 440 store.

The opening also fits into a larger expansion push. Target said it is celebrating six new store openings in May 2026 and more than 30 planned for 2026 overall, signaling that the Jersey City site is part of a broader store-growth model built around jobs, community visibility and tech-enabled service. For the Route 440 team, the real test begins after opening day, when the store has to settle into a rhythm that can hold up under the neighborhood’s pace and expectations.