IKEA announces plans for St. Louis store

IKEA said this week that it is submitting plans for a St. Louis, Mo., store.

The application marks the beginning of the governmental approval process, which is expected to lead to the opening sometime in fall 2015. The closest IKEA stores to the proposal are the Chicago-area stores in Bolingbrook, Ill., and Schaumburg, Ill. Additionally, a Kansas City-area store is under construction and on track to open fall 2014 in Merriam, Kan.

Located in the heart of Midtown St. Louis, the 380,000-sq.-ft. proposed IKEA store would be built along the northern side of Interstate 64 near the Vandeventer Avenue exit. It would sit on nearly 21 acres purchased in the Cortex Innovation District, a technology community created to commercialize the benefits of university and regional corporate research in St. Louis.

“We look forward to continue growing our Midwestern U.S. presence with IKEA St. Louis,” said IKEA U.S. president Mike Ward. “This dynamic location would provide the already 101,000 St. Louis-area customers a store of their own and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers in Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and beyond.”