Nebraska Furniture Mart breaks ground for big Texas store

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, September 26, 2012

DALLAS — Nebraska Furniture Mart broke ground Tuesday on what it says will be "the largest home furnishings store in North America," a 1.86 million-square-foot retail store and distribution center in a north Dallas suburb.

An interior rendering of main middle entry to Nebraska Furniture Mart’s upcoming Dallas-area home furnishings store depicts an open two-level design with signage encouraging consumers to “Live,” “Dream,” “Create” and “Explore.”

The Nebraska Furniture Mart of Texas, on an approximately 90-acre tract along State Highway 121 in The Colony, will be part of a retail and entertainment center development and is expected to open in spring 2015.

NFM has estimated the store will attract more than 8 million visitors with its more than 160,000 items and will generate $600 million in sales annually - including non-furniture categories such as electronics and appliances.

At 560,000 square feet with a 1.3 million square-foot distribution center, the two-level store will be the largest for Omaha, Neb.-based NFM, part of Berkshire Hathaway's furniture division. NFM operates Nebraska Furniture Mart stores in Omaha and Kansas City, Kan., well as Homemakers Furniture in Des Moines, Iowa.

"We love the growing excitement in the region for our one-of-a-kind home furnishings shopping experience, which will bring something totally new and unique to north Texas," Jeff Lind, NFM's chief strategy and development officer, said in a release.

"Mrs. B (NFM founder Rose Blumkin) was a visionary who paid attention to her customers and taught her family to do the same. We believe Texans will appreciate our entrepreneurial spirit and unique retail experience."

The retailer said it plans to add 2,000 jobs in the market.

Nebraska Furniture Mart of Texas, NFM’s third and largest store at 560,000 square feet, is slated to open in north Dallas in the spring of 2015.

"This is a unique opportunity to bring new jobs and tourism to the area, and we expect this one-of-a-kind development will draw people from more than 200 miles away," said The Colony Mayor Joe McCourry.

NFM will be the anchor and developer of a planned $1.5 billion, 433-acre, mixed-use development complex located along the south side of State Highway 121 between West Spring Creek Parkway and Plano Parkway. It estimates the entire development will draw 14 million to 16 million people annually.