Syracuse lands Upstate New York’s first Ikea store
Exactly 40 years ago, a strangely named and incredibly large (237,000 sq. ft.) home furnishings store opened in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. The Swedish retailing phenomenon Ikea had landed in the United States.
This year, Ikea will open its 53rd U.S. store at Pyramid Management Group’s Destiny USA in Syracuse, N.Y., some 300 miles away from its nearest sister location in Stoughton, Mass. — and Pyramid CEO Stephen Congel couldn’t be happier.
“We’re absolutely thrilled!” Congel emoted. “Welcoming this iconic, globally loved brand is one of the most exciting moments in our company’s history.”
According to Pyramid, Ikea decided on Destiny USA — one of the 10 largest malls in the nation — because of the center’s exceptional accessibility, high traffic, and powerful regional draw. It sits at the crossroads of I-81 and I-90 (the New York State Thruway), about halfway between Albany and Buffalo in the heart of the Upstate region.
"Bringing Ikea to Destiny USA is an exciting opportunity for the city of Syracuse and the region," said Syracuse mayor Ben Walsh. "It signals continued investment in Destiny and aligns with our revitalization efforts in the Inner Harbor and Lakefront neighborhood. Ikea will attract visitors from all over the region, driving new business to the city and providing access to quality, affordable home furnishings right here in our community."
Likely contributing to Ikea’s choice of Syracuse is another, much larger, tenant about to land in town. Later this year, Micron Technology will break ground on what it promises to be America’s largest chip-making plant in Syracuse.
That project expects to create more than 50,000 jobs over a 20-year period, including 9,000 high-paying Micron jobs directly generated by the fabrication facility.
Ikea will do a complete renovation of a former 88,500-sq.-ft. At Home space at Destiny USA. The design features a central planning area where customers design and order home furnishing solutions for specific spaces in their homes.
As excited as Pyramid’s Stephen Congel was Onondaga County executive Ryan McMahon.
“The decision by the Ikea team to invest in our community further validates that the Onondaga County comeback is real,” McMahon said. “This is a huge win for the team at Destiny USA, but also for the burgeoning Inner Harbor neighborhood.”
