UWS Target Opening Pushed To Fall Amid Coronavirus Crisis

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — The highly-anticipated Target at Columbus Circle's opening has been pushed back yet again amid the coronavirus crisis, the store confirmed this week.

The 34,000-square-foot store, the first Target in the neighborhood, was originally slated to open in early 2020, but will now open later this fall, I Love The Upper West Side first reported.

The company did not specify that the delay was due to the coronavirus crisis, but did point to "external circumstances" that continue to evolve.

"As a result, our Columbus Circle Target store, located at 61st St. and Broadway, is planned to open later this fall," a spokesperson told Patch. "As we get closer to opening the store, we’ll have more specific details to share – including how the shopping experience will be tailored to serve local guests and the grand opening date."

New York City just started the first phase of reopening its economy from the coronavirus stay-at-home order on Monday.

The Columbus Circle Target has been in the works since 2018 and was first scheduled to open in 2019, an opening that was then pushed into early 2020. The spokesperson had told Patch in February — before the coronavirus crisis reached New York City — that the store was expected within the next few months.

The company started doing at least some of the preparations for opening last year, when it held hiring events for a 160-person team that will run the West 61st Street and Broadway store.

The Columbus Circle store will open in a retail portion of AvalonBay's development at 1865 Broadway. The development is expected to rise 416 feet tall and contain 172 apartment units, according to plans filed with the city Department of Buildings.