NEW YORK — After tantalizing Manhattanites for years with temporary pop-up stores, Target Corp. has opened its first store in Manhattan. The 174,000-square-foot outlet represents the single-largest store investment in the retailer’s history.

After tantalizing Manhattanites for years with temporary pop-up stores, Target Corp. has opened its first store in Manhattan. The 174,000-square-foot outlet represents the single-largest store investment in the retailer’s history.

The discount store joins a Costco Wholesale Corp. warehouse club and a Best Buy Co. electronics superstore in the East River Plaza in East Harlem. More than half of the store’s 400 employees live in the neighborhood, according to Target.

The Manhattan flagship unit is Target’s ninth store in New York. Plans call for another Manhattan location, but not for at least three years. Reflecting the limited and costly real estate in the borough, the next store is expected to measure just 60,000 to 80,000 square feet.

Target has taken pains to adapt the store to its setting, with bilingual signage in English and Spanish and departmental graphics that feature multiethnic models. The merchandise also has been geared to the store’s demographics and urban setting. For example, the store carries home goods such as airbeds and storage containers suited for apartment living, and it allocates more space to fresh food and other consumables such as cleaning products.

In the more discretionary departments, Target gave the first showing of its Harlem Designer Collections at this location before introducing them in other key stores, mostly in the East. The collection includes Isabel and Ruben Toledo’s psychedelic swimwear; Stephen Burrows zip-front hoodie dresses; and Marcus Samelsson’s offering of aprons, place mats, kitchen towels and pot holders.

The multicultural theme extends to other departments as well, with Ebony and Spanish-language greeting cards, gospel and Latin music, Spanish-language movies, and religious candles.

According to John Griffith, executive vice president of property development for Target, the store is projected to generate more than $90 million in sales within a year and become one of the chain’s top five grossers. Target has several stores that produce over $100 million in annual sales.