Construction on track for new Ikea

Ikea’s upcoming store in Columbus, Ohio, has begun taking shape.



The company said that the structure’s steel framing has progressed far enough to allow for the installation of Ikea’s iconic blue composite panels. Installing the panels is a construction milestone that keeps the store on track to open in summer 2017.



The 354,000-sq.-ft. Ikea is being built on 33 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce development, approximately 15 miles north of downtown Columbus.



“With Ikea Columbus taking shape and the blue paneling now going up, we continue to be on track for a grand opening next summer,” said Lars Petersson, Ikea U.S. president. “We hope to be enclosed before the New Year, and cannot wait to begin transforming the building’s interior to look like an Ikea store as well.”



Ikea plans to evaluate the store’s potential for on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. goal of a renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.