Celina's new Home Depot opened its doors Thursday, Aug. 20, bringing 149 jobs and a $1.4 million city incentive deal to the Preston Road retail corridor.

Store manager Rachel Sutton, who started at The Home Depot 18 years ago as a part-time cashier, now oversees the 149-person team. Of those, 124 are brand-new Home Depot employees, according to Community Impact.

The store held a board-cutting ceremony and opened to shoppers at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, ahead of the official grand opening the following day.

"There's a lot of growth in this area, and so we do believe that the pro part of our business will be huge at this store," Sutton said.

She expects the customer base to split between do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors working Celina's wave of new construction. The Celina location is one of 12 new Home Depot stores opening across eight states in 2026, according to USA Today.

$1.4 million incentive over 10 years

Celina City Council approved an economic incentive agreement for the store in December 2024. Under the deal, Home Depot will receive a sales tax grant of up to $1.4 million over 10 years, split between the city and the Celina Economic Development Corporation. City officials expect to recoup the investment within five years.

The incentive fits a broader pattern along Preston Road. For the upcoming fiscal year, roughly half of Celina's raw sales tax revenue will go toward paying out development agreements for big-box retailers on that corridor, City Manager Robert Ranc said during the city's FY 2026-27 budget presentation on Aug. 18.

The gap is stark. Celina's population grew 119% between 2022 and 2026, but city sales tax revenue is projected to grow just 71% from FY 2022-23 to FY 2026-27, Ranc said, noting that commercial development hasn't had time to catch up to the city's residential boom.

What's next on Preston Road

Home Depot won't be the corridor's only new anchor for long. Costco is set to open its Celina location at Preston Road and Ownsby Parkway on Wednesday, Aug. 26, with a ribbon-cutting at 7:30 a.m. and doors opening to shoppers at 8 a.m. That store will feature a 158,000-square-foot warehouse and a fueling station.