Ikea continues Midwestern expansion

With company representatives, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, local officials and community leaders on hand, Ikea officially broke ground for its future St. Louis store scheduled to open fall 2015.



The 380,000-sq.-ft. location with 1,300 parking spaces will be built along the northern side of Interstate-64 and Vandeventer Ave. on nearly 21 acres in the City’s Cortex Innovation District. The company has contracted with St. Louis-based S. M. Wilson & Co. to construct the project.



Ikea will also evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. goal of renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations. The company is working with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and other local groups to recycle and salvage as much of the existing buildings’ equipment, materials and parts as possible.



“This location will help bring the unique Ikea family-friendly shopping experience closer to many St. Louis-area customers who currently can only shop at Ikea stores elsewhere or online,” said Rob Olson, Ikea U.S. CFO. “The store also will attract new customers from Missouri, Illinois and beyond who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had the chance to shop at an Ikea store.”



According to the company, the St. Louis location will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 300 people would join Ikea when the new store opens.