IKEA, the home furnishings retailer, expressed its appreciation to the City Council of Fishers, Indiana for its unanimous approval tonight of plans for the Swedish company’s Indianapolis-area store that would increase the Swedish company’s presence in the Midwestern US as its first store in the state.
Pending remaining approvals and permits, construction could begin in Fall 2016, with an opening in Fall 2017. Until then, local customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores in West Chester, OH; Bolingbrook and Schaumburg, IL; or online at IKEA-USA.com.
Located approximately 15 miles northeast of downtown Indianapolis, the 296,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its approximately 1,000 parking spaces would be built on 35 acres along the eastern side of Interstate 69, just south of the E. 116th Street exit. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.
"IKEA is thrilled and honored by the support from Fishers officials and staff in favor of our building a store in their entrepreneurial and vibrant city," said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. "Opening IKEA Fishers will bring the unique IKEA shopping experience closer to Indiana shoppers who have not been to an IKEA store or are not able to visit us frequently."
IKEA Fishers would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children's play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a 'Children's IKEA' area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Fishers also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for state and local governments and schools.
Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations' carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations, has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.
