Pepper Construction to Build IKEA’s First WI Store

By Laura Calugar

Rendering of IKEA Oak Creek, Wis.

IKEA announced that Pepper Construction will build its future suburban Milwaukee store in Oak Creek, Wis. Pending remaining permits, groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer, with the store opening planned for the summer of 2018. More than 500 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

Pepper Construction will serve as construction manager, but other firms will also assist with the project—real estate brokerage CBRE for site selection support; Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren for local land use counsel; GRAEF for civil engineering; WD Partners for architecture, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design; Stantec for environmental services and GreenbergFarrow for development services.

Located approximately 12 miles south of downtown Milwaukee, the 291,000-square-foot future IKEA Oak Creek will accommodate 1,000 parking spaces and will be built on 29 acres along the northwestern corner of Interstate 94 and Drexel Avenue. IKEA is also evaluating potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations.

The future IKEA Oak Creek will feature roughly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties as well as American dishes. Approximately 250 new jobs will be created upon completion of the store.

“With contractors on board, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Oak Creek. This Milwaukee-area store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential customers throughout Wisconsin, complementing our growing Midwestern U.S. presence,” IKEA U.S. President Lars Petersson said in prepared remarks.

There are currently more than 390 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 in the U.S. Pepper Construction has worked with IKEA in the past and is currently building the retailer’s first Indianapolis-area store in Fishers, Ind.

Image courtesy of IKEA