Ikea plans Twin Cities unit for summer '04
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 24, 2003
Bloomington, Minn. — Ikea plans to enter the Twin Cities with a 330,000-square-foot store in this Minneapolis suburb, with an expected opening in summer 2004 pending city approval.
The retailer said the proposed location is the site of the former Met Center, next to the Mall of America. It would be part of an integrated project to be developed as Phase II of the mall and connected by a pedestrian walkway.
"We know that many Minnesotans are already fans of Ikea, and we are very proud of this proposal to open an Ikea store they can call their own," said Brad Prevost, Midwest real estate manager for the Sweden-based specialty home furnishings chain.
In the mode of other big new Ikeas, the Bloomington store will contain about 75 room settings, three model homes, a supervised children's play area and a 320-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.
The Twin Cities entry is part of an aggressive North American expansion and relocation program by the retailer, which plans at least five new stores a year for the next 10 years. The company hopes to increase its presence in existing markets as well as enter new markets.
Besides Bloomington, other cities proposed for openings in 2004 include Dublin, Calif.; New Haven, Conn.; Philadelphia; Somerville, Mass.; and a relocation in Houston.
In Bloomington, the proposed store site is bordered by Lindau Lane on the south, Highway 77 on the west, American Boulevard (79th Avenue) on the north and 24th Avenue on the east.
Phase II of the mall will go up across Lindau Lane from the Ikea site. Ikea, which is working with the Simon Property Group, said it intends to purchase from Mall of America a 15-acre parcel at the west end of the site facing Nordstrom. The Ikea store would be elevated, with about 1,500 parking spaces at ground level and in an elevated parking deck in front of the store on the south side.
