New IKEA Store to Open in Jacksonville

By Irina Vrasmas

IKEA Jacksonville Store Rendering

Jacksonville, Fla.—Plans for IKEA’s fifth store in the state of Florida are moving forward as the furnishing retailer has recently selected contractors for the Jacksonville site work and store development project. Groundbreaking of the project will take place this November, with the store expected to open by fall 2017.

Marcobay Construction Inc., a Lakeland-based full-service construction management, design and general contracting firm, was selected to serve as construction manager. Other partner companies for this project include CBRE for site selection support; Driver, McAfee, Peek & Hawthorne for local land use council; Prosser Inc. for civic and traffic engineering; Bushra Tsai Inc. for structural; RPM Engineers Inc. for the design of mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations; Universal Engineering Sciences for geotechnical services; Environmental Services Inc. and Gemini Engineering for environmental services; GreenbergFarrow for development coordination; and Ware Malcomb as the project’s architect.

“With contractors onboard, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Jacksonville,” Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president, said in a prepared statement. “This store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential customers throughout North Florida and Southern Georgia, complementing our growing southeastern U.S. presence.”

The construction phase is expected to create more than 500 temporary jobs, while upon completion, approximately 250 permanent positions will be made available. In addition, IKEA Jacksonville will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schooling institutions.

Located approximately 10 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville, the store will encompass 290,000 square feet and 950 parking spaces, built on 25 acres along the northwestern corner of Interstate 295 and Gate Parkway. Furthermore, the company is evaluating potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations.

IKEA Jacksonville will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised play area for children and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish and American specialties. Additional family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store and preferred parking.

Rendering courtesy of IKEA