Millington’s long courtship of major retail looks like it is finally paying off. Developers have pulled building permits for a new Target store in the north Shelby County suburb, a concrete step that suggests construction could begin in the near future. Local officials and business advocates have been angling for exactly this kind of big-name anchor, hoping it will pull in more shops and fresh jobs along the city’s existing commercial corridors.
The latest permits are the strongest signal yet that the long-discussed project is shifting from talk to action. According to The Daily Memphian, developers filed building permits for the big-box retailer on Feb. 6, 2026. City leaders are banking on the Target to spark a wave of new retail around Millington Farms and nearby parcels, turning a growing hub into something closer to a full-blown shopping destination.
Where It Fits in Millington’s Plan
The Target store is planned as part of a larger cluster of big-box tenants, not a one-off. The civil engineering firm on the project lists Target and Academy Sports as planned anchors in the same development. The Reaves Firm notes it is serving as the civil engineer for the project, a sign that design work and permitting are actively moving instead of sitting on a shelf.
That lines up with Millington’s broader pitch to become a retail magnet for north Shelby County. City Manager Frankie Dakin has repeatedly described the strategy as getting sites fully “shovel-ready” with infrastructure and incentives, making it easy for national brands to say yes. He outlined that approach in a conversation with WKNO, tying Millington’s retail ambitions to its long-term growth plans.
How the Deal Came Together
The land piece of the puzzle quietly fell into place last fall. The Daily Memphian reported in November that Target bought roughly 11 acres in Millington for about $2.3 million. Gaining control of the site removed a major hurdle and set up the permit filings, now on the books…