The Home Depot is headed to The Willows at 1100 South Willow Avenue in Cookeville, where the home improvement retailer is expected to open in fall 2026.
According to the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, The Home Depot will serve as one of the anchor tenants at The Willows, a 40-acre retail development planned for the southeast corner of South Willow Avenue and Interstate 40. City officials say site work began after developer CHM, LLC acquired the property, and the project is expected to include additional shopping and dining options alongside Home Depot and Target.
The Upper Cumberland Business Journal reports that local officials have spent years working to bring both retailers to the area. Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said The Home Depot and Target have consistently ranked among the most requested retailers from residents, while city leaders expect the development to deliver a significant economic boost for Cookeville and the broader Upper Cumberland region.
The Cookeville location is part of a larger growth strategy for the company. According to The Home Depot’s corporate website, the retailer plans to open 12 new stores across eight states in 2026, adding more than 1.6 million square feet of retail space nationwide. The company says the expansion is intended to support growing communities, meet demand for housing-related projects, and create thousands of jobs in local markets.
While many retailers continue to scale back their physical footprints, The Home Depot says it is investing in new brick-and-mortar locations to better serve homeowners and professional contractors. The company notes that expanding into fast-growing regions helps bring inventory, services, and expert support closer to customers, shortening the distance between planning a project and completing it.
