CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced contractors are hired for building its future Norfolk store, the second IKEA location in Virginia. Pending remaining permits, this progress keeps the project on track for site work to commence, with groundbreaking later this fall, and a store opening in Spring 2019, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the Southeastern U.S. Until then, customers can shop at IKEA stores in Woodbridge, VA and Charlotte, NC, or online at IKEA-USA.com.
IKEA has chosen Linkous Construction Company to serve as Construction Manager for the IKEA Norfolk site work and store development project. Memphis-based Linkous has built nearly 40 million square feet of commercial, industrial and institutional projects in the past three decades, including the IKEA Memphis store that opened last December. Other firms assisting with this project are: Divaris Real Estate brokerage for site selection support; Wilcox Savage for local land use counsel; Kimley-Horn for civil and traffic engineering; IMEG for structural engineering, ACIES Engineering, Inc. for mechanical, electrical and plumbing design; Code Consultants, Inc. for code consulting and fire protection; GET Solutions, Inc. for geotechnical services; GreenbergFarrow for development coordination and project architect.
“With contractors onboard, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Norfolk,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential Hampton Roads customers, complementing our growing southeastern U.S. presence.”
The future IKEA Norfolk will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-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 during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Norfolk also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.
This project will represent the third significant investment by IKEA in the state of Virginia. Besides this proposed Norfolk store and the store in Woodbridge, there also is an IKEA furniture factory in Danville that opened in 2008.
Located centrally within the Hampton Roads area, and eight miles east of downtown Norfolk, the 338,000-square-foot IKEA store and 935 parking spaces will be built on 19 acres at the northwestern corner of Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard. 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.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 400 IKEA stores in 49 countries, including 44 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSA, @IKEAUSANews, or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.
