Ikea adding floor space, parking garage to Austin-area store

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 12, 2011

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Ikea said it will expand its store in this Austin, Texas, suburb by 54,000 square feet, making more room for its self-service furniture area, and adding a three-level parking garage.

The Sweden-based home furnishings retail giant said the move will boost the store's size to about 306,000 square feet. Work will begin this month and is expected to be completed next summer. The store will remain open during the construction.

The Top 100 company said the project includes extending the self-serve furniture area, where shoppers collect flat-packed furniture to take home on the same day, as well as relocating customer service functions to the new section. The parking structure will offset space eliminated by converting the northwest section of the parking lot into building.

"Ikea is thrilled with the success of Ikea Round Rock. But as its customer base and sales continue to grow - along with the product assortment we offer - the size of the store's warehouse capacity now is less than ideal," Store Manager Gerd Diewald said in a release. "Extending the store's self-serve furniture area so it can hold more products will allow us to improve the shopping experience, to meet our customers' needs more easily, and to enhance our ability to keep lowering prices."

The store, at Interstate 35 and University Boulevard, opened November 2006.