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Ikea a little closer to reality for west Broward

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#1 ·
Sunrise weighs trip to view Ikea
Retailer invites officials to visit California store

By Jeremy Milarsky
Staff Writer
Posted April 30 2005

Sunrise · Hoping to break into the South Florida market, executives from Swedish furniture giant Ikea have invited elected officials from Sunrise to visit one of their stores in California.

Commissioners are considering whether to take a trip at the city's expense to one of the Ikea stores in California in order to get a better idea of how a similar furniture outlet would affect West Sunrise.

Ikea executives for months have been negotiating with Fort Lauderdale developer Stiles Corp., and considering whether to lease space in that company's planned retail center on the northwest corner of Southwest 136th Avenue and State Road 84. Stiles owns about 25 acres at that location, which once housed Blockbuster Golf and Games.

"Allowing the Ikea is a major decision," Sunrise Mayor Steve Feren said. "So it might not be a bad idea to go out and look at one."

Fort Lauderdale is more than 1,000 miles away from the nearest Ikea store, in suburban Washington, D.C. But Sunrise officials want to visit an Ikea that would be similar in size and design to the one informally proposed in Sunrise, such as one of those in California.

"Every store is slightly different," Feren said.

About three months ago, commissioners met individually with Ikea executives to discuss the project. They saw concept drawings calling for a two-story store almost 200,000 square feet in size, three buildings with retail businesses, a 1.4-acre pond to retain storm water and a parking garage with more than 500 spaces.

Feren said any trip to a remote Ikea store would be financed by the city, "not the developer," and he pointed out he and his fellow elected officials visited La Ciudad de los Ninos in Mexico City before approving plans for the similar Wannado City theme park in Sawgrass Mills.

City Attorney Kim Register said such a trip would not violate Florida's open-meetings law unless commissioners discuss city business while in California.

Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said his company has a continuing interest in Florida.

"It remains a site well-suited for Ikea," Roth said of the Sunrise property. "And certainly, anyone is welcome to go and visit one of our stores. That's something we always say upfront."

The state has more Ikea customers than any other state without an Ikea store; about 250,000 people in Florida shop at Ikea online, receive shipped furniture or order company catalogues, Roth said.

The furniture company had hoped to build a store in Davie, but executives last year withdrew their request after some residents voiced opposition.

Jeremy Milarsky can be reached at jmilarsky@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2020.
 
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#2 ·
Ikea has been searching for a place in Broward to build its first Florida store for a few years. They had a site picked out in Davie but the nimbys killed it. This new site is better anyway. It's easier to get to and very close to Sawgrass Mills.

Ikea is dead set on building a store in Broward. They think of it as the center of the SoFlo Metro. The Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-WPB metro is the largest metro in America without an Ikea.
 
#3 ·
IKEA seems to be a little to late to enter the South Florida market considering there are so may furniture stores and firms already at DCOTA and the Design District in Miami.
If I remember correctly they also requires acres of land to build one of their stores which begs the question whether Sunrise has the ability land wise to accomadate such a large store.
 
#4 ·
They aren't too late because they offer a type of product that no one else in the area offers. Besides, customers will drive from all over the state to shop here. 250,000 Floridians already shop on Ikea online and make roadtrips to out of state stores.

I agree about the space issue but Stiles Corp. is building a huge shopping center on about 20 acres (I think it's that big) in Sunrise. Ikea may be the anchor store of this new center.

Ikea's furniture is also a lot cheaper than the furniture from the fancy designers at DCOTA and the Design District. I think Ikea will compete more with City Furniture and Carl's.
 
#7 ·
Bobdreamz said:
IKEA seems to be a little to late to enter the South Florida market considering there are so may furniture stores and firms already at DCOTA and the Design District in Miami.
Too late? Most of those stores in the Design District are totally out of price range for many consumers. Ikea offers stylish furniture that is of good quality and dirt cheap.

One of the sights they have been looking at is the Omni Mall in downtown. I would love to see them there, but they are leaning towards a centralized Broward store.
 
#9 ·
They have a store in Minneapolis too, right next to the mall of America. Everything in that area is done on a grand scale (Mall of America is largest mall in America, Ikea is huge store, they are building a 10 story waterslide in the area and its all across the street from the Minneapolis-st paul airport) all in all the area is very tacky but popular with tourists. I used to deliver stuff to DCOTA, very cool place but coud never afford it, same with the design district (love the area though).
 
#10 ·
I've been to IKEAs in Baltimore, DC and Philly and they all look pretty much the same. They're just huge blue and yellow box-shaped stores. Very suburban and large scale. The stores are big tourist attractions and are always crowded with customers. Many people rent U-HAULS and drive hundreds of miles to shop at IKEA.

If you aren't familiar with IKEA. Their philosophy is to make well designed furnishings affordable for regular people.

The stores usually have restaurants and day care centers so you can shop without your kids driving you nuts. : )

I don't think an ikea would be appropriate for Downtown MIA or Ft. Laud. because the stores are infamous for the crazy amounts of traffic they create in their neighborhoods. The stores are usually built within view of a highway and require large parking lots. I think the ideal location would be at Sawgrass Mills Mall.

The site they're now considering is on the proposed route of Broward's future east-west light rail line. Near the intersection of I-595 and the Sawgrass Expwy. Not far from Sawgrass Mills.

The furniture comes in flat boxes and customers typically have to assemble it at home.

The stores are two or three floors and laid out in a way that almost forces you to walk through the showrooms, then to the warehouse(to get the box(s) of furniture you chose) and to the checkout in the back where you can pull your car up to the doors.

I think IKEA would be a hit in SoFlo because this is a really design conscious community with 5 million people, many of whom aren't rich enough to shop at DCOTA or the Design District but everyone wants cool furniture, right?
And, like the article said, there are already 250,000 people in Florida who shop at IKEA online or drive to out of state stores.





Pic of warehouse area, showrooms are much nicer
 
#15 ·
MAH45462 said:
Too late? Most of those stores in the Design District are totally out of price range for many consumers. Ikea offers stylish furniture that is of good quality and dirt cheap.

One of the sights they have been looking at is the Omni Mall in downtown. I would love to see them there, but they are leaning towards a centralized Broward store.
While they are cheap and I do love the little food court they have, I don't think their quality is that great. If I wanted high quality items, DCOTA and the Design District is still the place to go.

Some things that I've had problems with are the material. They look futuristic, modern, and classy at IKEA, but the material themselves are pretty much polycarbonated, pulp (or whatever the word is... it's not coming into my head right now) materials which doesn't last very long -- it's not IKEA's fault but their products usually last longer than Target and Wal-Mart.

That being said, I hope they don't make too many IKEAs in South Florida or the higher quality places will suffer as a consequence. The Design District is a jewel in Miami.
 
#18 ·
Yah I'm wondering now why it's not going to be bigger. Houston had a small one but they just recently tore it down to build a two story 300,000 sq ft Ikea (looks like the picture up there actually -- I'm wondering if that's the picture of the one in Houston). It's nice, big and so on, but maybe it's just too massive for South Florida as massive buildings kind of go against the new urbanism wave going on. But I'm sure they won't be missing any products if they have a lot of buyers in the area.
 
#19 ·
I have no idea where the IKEA in the picture is.
The IKEA in Sunrise is supposed to be two floors also. Knowing how much difficulty IKEA is having trying to build their first SoFla location you would think they'd build it as big as possible. They've been trying to build down here for years and it's only going to get harder to build something this big in South Florida considering the land crunch.
 
#21 ·
Latest Ikea news from SunSentinel May 21, 2005

Ikea presents drawings for proposed Sunrise site

By Kevin Smith
Staff Writer
Posted May 21 2005


Sunrise· Roughly 10 pounds of carefully drawn maps and diagrams arrived in this city's planning and development department this week, possibly setting the stage for Florida's first Ikea furniture store.

Submitted after months of vague discussions between the city, the furniture retailer and Fort Lauderdale-based developer Stiles Corporation, the plans represented a specific direction for the site at Northwest 2nd Street and Northwest 136th Avenue.

"This is the first submission they've given," said Mark Lubelski, the city's acting planning and development director.

The submission included plans for a master site for the 292,000 square-foot Ikea store with its 993-space parking structure, for the three smaller retail buildings to be included on the site and for modifications to be made around a nearby hotel.

The plans will be reviewed by the staff and then be considered by the Planning and Zoning Board before eventually reaching the City Commission. Lubelski said the process would take several months. Besides the Ikea store, the plans call for three commercial buildings ranging in size between 14,000 and 16,000 square feet each.

With 21 stores around the country, Sweden-based Ikea considered adding an outlet in Davie, but the project died in opposition from residents last year. Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said the company, despite Stiles' applications, was not completely committed to the Sunrise location and continued to evaluate other South Florida sites. Nevertheless, Sunrise remained very attractive.

"This location offers great visibility and great access, which are two things we look for when we evaluate a location," Roth said.

City Commissioner Sheila Alu said she hadn't seen the plans since their arrival at city hall and remained concerned about the traffic the project might bring. She hasn't made up her mind about the project, but said several people have already called or e-mailed her to share their enthusiasm for the store.

"I've never seen a project get so many people so excited," Alu said.

Staff Writer Jeremy Milarsky contributed to this report.
 
#22 ·
Same story from The Herald

Posted on Sat, May. 21, 2005
RETAIL

Sunrise may get first Florida IKEA
A Sunrise location could be the site for the first IKEA store in Florida. Sunrise Mayor Steven Feren said the furniture retailer's proposal was serious, although it still has a long way to go in the planning.

BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ AND ELAINE WALKER
ewalker@herald.com

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA may be coming to Sunrise.

The potential site is the former Blockbuster Golf and Games at Northwest 136th Avenue and State Road 84. The 25-acre site is owned by Stiles Corp.

This would be the first location in Florida for the international retailer known for its cheap, chic furniture. The first store in the Southeast is set to open June 29 in Atlanta.

Stiles submitted applications, including one for IKEA, and site plans for the project to Sunrise earlier this month.

The proposed plans call for a 292,590-square-foot IKEA store along with three other retail buildings as part of a project called ''The Gateway at Sawgrass.'' The development also would keep the Wellesley Inn already at the site.

''We continue to evaluate that site,'' said Joseph Roth, IKEA spokesman. ``We think it's very well suited for an IKEA.''

Sunrise Mayor Steven Feren said IKEA's proposal was serious, although it still has a long way to go in the planning process.

''You never know if you will actually get to the final agreement, but I'm optimistic at this point that it's looking good,'' Feren said.

Stiles is also in the process of buying the adjacent Pet Supermarket headquarters, which real estate sources say would be used to expand the size of the proposed project.

Nancy Brusher, a Stiles spokeswoman, would not comment until the plans were approved.

While IKEA says nothing has been finalized, the submissions included detailed examples of potential store signs, proposed parking, diagrams of outdoor lighting and pictures of possible front doors.

According to the IKEA application, the store would include interactive home displays, a café and a children's area. Customers would park in a two-level parking garage.

The location is about a mile from the nearest homes, which should reduce any conflicts with residents, Feren said.

Last year, Davie residents protested IKEA's plans for a store in that city, and the retailer eventually dropped its plans. Unlike that experience, Feren said all the feedback he has received so far in Sunrise has been positive.

'The half dozen phone calls or people I've spoken to have all been `Get the IKEA. I love shopping there,' '' Feren said.

IKEA had considered the former Blockbuster site several years ago, but switched to Davie after having problems with the Sunrise location, Roth said.

Feren said IKEA's first proposal years ago was only a store with a lot of parking spaces, which city officials thought would be an eyesore to drivers. But the latest changes have IKEA as part of an entire shopping area, which make the project more attractive, Feren said.

IKEA has said frequently it likes the idea of opening its first South Florida store in Broward County because of the central location in South Florida and the accessibility for shoppers from Florida's west coast.There are already more IKEA customers in Florida than in any other market where the retailer doesn't have a store.

''In a perfect world, a store in South Florida would have been open already,'' Roth said. ``We're very anxious to get things going, but we're not prepared to rush and we want to get it right.''
 
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