SEVIERVILLE — After years of speculation and wishes for a local store from customers, Target has purchased land on Winfield Dunn Parkway.
The popular department store chain paid $5 million for about 12 acres of property on Winfield Dunn, between Quality Inn & Suites and the Smoky Mountain Gateway shopping mall.
It isn’t clear what the company’s plans for the site are. Target’s media relations did not respond to a request for comment for this story and its list of upcoming stores doesn’t include any locations in Tennessee.
Local officials said they haven’t received any confirmation that the company is planning a store at that site.
“All we know is they have purchased that property,” said Allen Newton, director of the Economic Development Council.
There’s been some work on the land there, but Sevierville City Planning Director Dustin Smith said that was land acquired by the Rocky Top car dealership.
“We haven’t seen any submittals for site work on any of that property for anything other than the Rocky Top dealership,” he said.
Newton said a new Target store, if it comes, would be welcome news to many residents.
“Ever since I took this job as economic development director that’s all I’ve heard from people is how we need a Target, how they want a Target here,” he said.
At one point a billboard in the same area of Winfield Dunn asked residents if they wanted a Target in Sevier County.
That area has been the site of some of Sevierville’s busiest commercial growth in recent years, as Smoky Mountain Gateway opened in 2020 and nearby River Landing Shopping Center opened in 2015.
The county has been a hot market overall, with commercial developments coming to the area even amid high construction costs and worries over inflation.
“Sevier County is a great place to do business and that’s why we’ve seen so much development,” Newton said.
“We’re a very hot market for retail, restaurants, all of that obviously.”
Contact Jeff at jfarrell@themountainpress.com or Twitter at @jeffmtnpress
