Plans Progress on IKEA's 415,000-SF Store

CENTENNIAL, CO-IKEA has hired contractors and a site-work permit is pending for its future Denver-area store. This progress allows for a fall 2011 grand opening in Centennial, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the western US. As GlobeSt.com previously reported, the retailer revealed plans for the Centennial store—the first in the state—in September of 2008.

IKEA has retained Centennial-based Saunders Construction as the construction management firm. Other Colorado firms involved with this future IKEA store include: CLC Associates for civil design; Kimley Horn Associates as traffic consultants during the approval process; Ground Engineering providing environmental analysis and geotechnical services; Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti serving as local counsel; real estate brokerage firm Legend Retail Group assisting IKEA in the site selection process; Geothermal Systems of Colorado installing the geothermal component, and Miller Global selling the land. Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow is architect responsible for store design, site planning and construction documents.

“With our land purchased, team selected and site-work permit pending, we now can schedule IKEA Centennial to open Fall 2011,” says Doug Greenholz, IKEA real estate director, in a prepared statement. “Construction crews soon will begin clearing and grading the site, and we look forward to breaking ground officially in a couple of months.”

In addition to 10,000 “exclusively-designed items,” IKEA Centennial will present approximately 50 different room-settings, three complete model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties as well as American dishes. The 415,000-square-foot future IKEA Centennial, with approximately 1,500 parking spaces, will be built on 13.5 acres along the western side of Interstate 25 in the Park Meadows area, accessible from connections to Dry Creek Road and County Line Road exits, and will employ approximately 400 coworkers when the new store opens.

IKEA Centennial will be the first US IKEA store to incorporate a geothermal component as part of the heating and cooling system, so heat will be pumped either from or into the ground, depending on weather conditions, according to a prepared statement. There currently are more than 300 IKEA stores in 38 countries, including 37 in the US.

According to a recent retail report by Marcus & Millichap, the retail vacancy rate in Denver will continue to rise in 2010 due to inventory expansion and weak retail spending in the suburbs. “Retail investment activity in Denver will increase in 2010 as benchmark prices are determined and buyers return to the market,” says Michael Hoffman, first vice president and regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office. “Owners who are not financially positioned to hold for the next three to five years have begun to come to terms with market realities.”