Perris now has something it never had before: a Target of its own. The retailer opened a 149,655-square-foot store at Plaza de Perris, occupying the former Regency Theatres building that operated for nearly 30 years before closing in 2024 and being demolished to make way for the new store.
The opening caps years of work to remake the shopping center, according to Retail Customer Experience, which reported that the arrival marks a significant milestone for Plaza de Perris and the surrounding Inland Empire communities, per a Connect CRE report. The City of Perris held a groundbreaking for the project on April 23, 2025, followed by an official ribbon-cutting on July 21, 2026, and a public opening five days later, according to a City of Perris press release.
A Long Road From Multiplex to Big Box
Developer Wood Investments Companies bought Plaza de Perris in 2017 and spent more than five years working through planning and development challenges before finally landing Target as a tenant, according to IE Business Daily. The outlet reported the developer coordinated closely with city staff to assemble the site and carry out the theater demolition. Getting there also required serious capital: mortgage banking firm BWE arranged $66.5 million in value-add financing in June 2024, including a $55.5 million three-year loan and an $11 million joint-venture equity investment, per Connect CRE's reporting.
Plaza de Perris totals nearly 300,000 square feet, according to Retail Customer Experience, and the center was 99% leased at the time of the financing, the outlet noted. The broader shopping center — which totals nearly 300,000 square feet by Retail Customer Experience's count — is anchored by Burlington, Food 4 Less, Planet Fitness, Five Below and Ross, giving the new Target plenty of retail neighbors just off Interstate 215 and E. Nuevo Road.
166 New Jobs, Local Leadership
The new store created 166 local jobs and is led by Store Director Lorena Sperry, a graduate of Perris High School, according to the City of Perris. City officials highlighted both the hiring numbers and Sperry's hometown ties during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Shoppers walking in will find more than just retail aisles. The 145,000-square-foot store includes an Apple at Target shop, a CVS Pharmacy, a Starbucks Café, Target Optical, EV charging stations, and Drive Up same-day fulfillment services, according to Patch.
Riding a Wave of Regional Growth
The Perris opening is one of 11 new Target stores that debuted in July 2026 as part of the retailer's national plan to open more than 30 stores in 2026, Target Corporation announced. The Perris location is notable within that expansion because it represents the city's first-ever Target, adding general merchandise competition in Perris, IE Business Daily reported. The project was also presented as an economic-development effort.
The timing lines up with the region's growth trajectory. Perris has doubled its population over the past two decades, and more than 400,000 residents now live within 10 miles of Plaza de Perris, according to GlobeSt. Riverside County is projected to add more than 20,000 new homes by 2030, the outlet reported, a pace of homebuilding that has fueled demand for exactly the kind of suburban retail center Wood Investments rebuilt.
The project also fits into the region's retail landscape. The redevelopment involved converting an existing theater site rather than building a new shopping center from scratch. In Perris, a shuttered movie theater was converted into a retail destination featuring Target, Apple, CVS and Starbucks.
