HomeGoods is breaking ground on its first-ever Harlingen store, a 25,213-square-foot renovation project at Harlingen Corners shopping center that will also mark the first location of the budget home-decor chain in all of Cameron County. The project sits at 2721 W. Expressway 83, near the southwest corner of the Harlingen interchange where Interstate 2 meets Interstate 69-E, according to state filings.
A New Addition to a Busy Retail Corridor
According to MySA, the Harlingen Corners site sits near Target and Walmart stores, within a retail corridor that already includes Hobby Lobby, Ross Dress for Less, Burlington and Kohl's. TJX Companies, HomeGoods' parent, already has a presence in that same corridor through its other brands. The company operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores in addition to HomeGoods, giving it multiple footholds in the area even before this new project broke ground.
State filings reviewed by rgv.me describe a $150,000 commercial renovation involving exterior alterations to the existing 25,213-square-foot retail building. Work was scheduled to officially begin October 1, and completion is expected by January 15, 2027, per the same filings. A record with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation lists the project under number TABS2027002615, registered October 2, 2026.
Third Store in the Valley, First for the County
Once open, the Harlingen location will become the third HomeGoods store in the Rio Grande Valley, joining two existing stores in McAllen at 7600 N. 10th St. Ste 100 and 700 E. Expressway 83, per MySA's reporting. It will also be the first HomeGoods location in Cameron County itself. TJX Companies had not formally announced plans for the Harlingen store at the time of reporting, the outlet noted, leaving the state filings and permit records as the clearest public signal of the project so far.
HomeGoods built its brand as a budget-friendly destination for home decor, furniture and housewares, and the Harlingen build-out fits into a much larger expansion push at the corporate level. TJX executives laid out an aggressive global growth plan during an August 19 earnings call, according to MySA, one that includes room for roughly 200 new HomeGoods stores within TJX's existing 10-country footprint.
TJX's Bigger Bet on Off-Price Retail
The Harlingen project is a small piece of a much larger corporate strategy. As reported by Modern Retail, TJX currently operates 5,285 stores across 10 countries and is now targeting a long-term global base of 7,500 locations, up from its earlier goal of 7,000. HomeGoods' own long-term target has climbed too, rising by 200 stores to a new goal of 2,000, according to the Globe and Mail.
The company's reported growth plans diverge slightly on timing. Modern Retail reported that CEO Ernie Herrman said TJX plans to increase its store-growth rate from 3% to 4% starting next year, while the Globe and Mail described the same acceleration to 4% as beginning in fiscal 2028. MySA's reporting attributes the 4%-starting-in-2027 figure directly to Herrman. Either way, the shift represents a meaningful step up from the company's earlier, more conservative pace.
Why TJX Sees Room to Grow in Places Like Harlingen
TJX executives have pointed to a specific opening in the market: department stores shutting down in smaller, rural communities. We're seeing opportunities in rural markets, where we see department stores are closing, the company said, per Modern Retail. The Globe and Mail reported a similar rationale, noting that Marmaxx has opportunities in rural markets where department stores are closing, while sustained comparable-store growth has created scope to place stores closer together. John Klinger said the company is positioned to capture a larger share of the market as a result, according to MySA.
The numbers back up that confidence. TJX posted second-quarter fiscal 2027 net sales of $15.2 billion, up 5% year over year, and HomeGoods U.S. delivered comparable-sales growth of 7% for the quarter ending August 1, both per Modern Retail. The company opened 23 new stores last quarter alone, including a second T.J. Maxx location in Spain. Foot-traffic data cited by the outlet showed visits to Ross Dress for Less up 17.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, with TJ Maxx and Marshalls visits rising 2.6% and 3% respectively, even as visits to traditional apparel stores fell 4.8% over the same stretch.
Other Off-Price Chains Are Expanding Too
TJX isn't the only off-price retailer chasing growth right now. Ross Stores said it was on track to open approximately 110 new locations in 2026, Modern Retail reported, while Nordstrom Rack has been adding 25 new locations between August 20 and November 5. Burlington, meanwhile, planned to open 12 stores across eight states and Puerto Rico in August.
Other Texas HomeGoods projects offer a sense of scale and timeline for what Harlingen shoppers might expect. A HomeGoods store has been under construction in Georgetown, according to Community Impact, with that $3.5 million project beginning construction in May and slated to wrap by December; the company had not yet announced an opening date for that location either. In Killeen, HomeGoods officially opened a roughly 24,750-square-foot store at the Killeen Mall, according to Killeen Daily Herald, selling home furnishings and household goods at prices typically 20% to 60% below traditional retailers and creating approximately 65 full- and part-time jobs.
