HomeGoods Claims Portland's Biggest Retail Lease, Heads to Gresham Station

HomeGoods is coming to East Multnomah County for the first time, signing an 18,300-square-foot lease at Gresham Station that stands as the single largest retail lease inked anywhere in the Portland metro area during the second quarter of 2026. The off-price home decor chain plans to open its doors at the shopping center in summer 2027, occupying a space at 989 NW 12th Street that once belonged to Cost Plus World Market.

According to the Portland Business Journal, HomeGoods will occupy the space formerly used by World Market at Gresham Station. That space did not open up because World Market was leaving the shopping center — the retailer instead relocated across the property into a newly built 15,512-square-foot store at 1090 NW Norman Avenue on July 24, 2026, freeing up its old footprint for its new neighbor, as reported by the Las Vegas Sun. World Market's rebuilt Gresham location reportedly introduced an expanded Asian Market section with more than 700 imported items.

The scale of HomeGoods' lease reflects just how tight the Portland retail market has gotten. Portland's metro retail vacancy rate sat at a low 4.7% in the second quarter of 2026, with average asking rents holding at $2.02 per square foot per year and only 514,643 square feet of retail space under construction across the entire region, per Kidder Mathews. Asking rents in the market rose 2.66% year-over-year during the same period, according to the same report, underscoring why big-box operators are scrambling for existing large-format spaces rather than waiting on new construction.

A Long-Awaited Fill-In for East County Shoppers

The new store gives East Multnomah County its first dedicated HomeGoods location. Until now, the closest standalone stores sat in Cascade Station near Portland International Airport, plus Tualatin, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Eugene — meaning East County shoppers had to travel west toward Airport Way or Tualatin just to browse the chain's home goods, per HomeGoods. Gresham Station's trade area covers more than 227,000 residents stretching from Troutdale to Sandy, with an estimated average annual household income of $79,098 as of 2023, according to Schnitzer Properties, the Portland-based firm that owns and operates the shopping center.

Schnitzer Properties purchased the 341,952-square-foot Class-A retail complex in September 2018 for $65 million, a deal that was one of the largest retail property acquisitions in the Portland area during that market cycle, as reported by Connect CRE. Built in 2001 on a 20.69-acre site along NW Division Street and NW Eastman Parkway, the center sits directly next to Gresham City Hall and is served by two TriMet Blue Line MAX light rail stops, Gresham Central and Gresham City Hall. NW Division Street sees an estimated 22,400 vehicles pass by daily, giving the center heavy visibility alongside existing anchors like Best Buy, Old Navy, Ulta Beauty, Burlington, and LA Fitness.

Part of a Bigger National Push

HomeGoods' Gresham arrival lands amid a broader growth push from parent company The TJX Companies, Inc. TJX reported $15.2 billion in net sales for its second fiscal quarter of 2027, ended August 1, 2026, driven in part by a 6% comp-store sales surge at HomeGoods, according to Modern Retail. That performance prompted TJX to raise its long-term global store target by 500 locations, to 7,500 total stores, with the company planning to accelerate its annual global expansion rate from 3% to 4% starting in fiscal year 2028 — including roughly 200 new standalone HomeGoods stores nationally.

Schnitzer Properties CEO Jordan Schnitzer said in late 2025 that hubs like Gresham Station play a critical role in the local economy by employing community members and keeping retail spending within East County, according to The Outlook. Beyond its retail tenants, the center also hosts community gatherings such as the seasonal Twilight Farmers Market.

TJX has also been investing in store-level security across its off-price banners. Starting in 2024, the company began equipping floor associates at select T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods stores with body-worn cameras, a move Hoodline reported came amid a broader industry push to expand loss-prevention measures following nationwide increases in organized retail theft. HomeGoods has not detailed whether the Gresham store will carry that same security setup once it opens next summer.