The following was posted on nextSTL and is reposted with permission.
A follow-up note from nextSTL:
"Just to be clear, we're saying that the city, Pace Properties and IKEA
are working hard to make this site work. Until IKEA signs a contract,
nothing is final and there are, of course, things that could go wrong. A
lot of people are taking the story as meaning that it's a done deal and
groundbreaking is imminent. It will take time to see if this site
works."
Several WhoLou sources are alleging that highly-coveted Swedish-based furniture chain Ikea intends
to develop their first St. Louis store close to the campus of St. Louis
University. The 300,000 sq. ft. store will allegedly be built near the
Laclede Gas and Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center complexes on
Forest Park Ave. between Sarah Street and Vandeventer Ave.
The company has 285 stores in more than 20 countries and designs its own
product which is then produced by more than 1,000 suppliers in 50-plus
countries. With only 38 stores in the United States boasting an Ikea is
regarded by many cities as a retail status symbol. Rumors in St. Louis
often take on a life of their own. A store opening that was recently
announced for Kansas City is expected to be open by the end of 2014.
The St. Louis store location has been rumored over several years to be a
part of numerous area development projects. Most recently Pace Properties attempted
to lure Ikea to their Hadley Township development in Richmond Heights
near Highway 40 and Hanley Rd. In that case, Pace was unable to aquire
all the property needed for the development. An adjacent development for
a Menards is proceeding.
Ikea is being represented by Pace in St. Louis. Stephen Heitz, vp of
development for Pace, would neither confirm nor deny the allegations.
Heitz stated, “Ikea is committed to having a presence in St. Louis but
no decisions on a site have been made final.” Via email Ikea U.S.
representative Joseph Roth commented, “Ikea has acknowledged that the
St. Louis area is large enough to support a store – and that we have
many customers there – we have not yet committed to any specific site
in, or time-frame for entering the St. Louis area.”
Sources further allege that the location of the store has been a closely
guarded secret and despite not receiving confirmation remain confident
that this is the area Ikea and Pace are working on developing. According
to the Post-Dispatch in July of 2012 an Ikea spokesperson told them and
a reporter from Kansas City that there were no plans for stores in
their respective cities then announced plans for a Kansas City store
that September.
The project would potentially also include major ramp construction off
of Highway 40 to ease access to the site according to sources. For
reference, the Cincinnati area Ikea in West Chester, OH (Cincinnati) is
344,000 sq. ft., has 1,400 parking spaces and employs 400 people. There
is no word on a final site plan, or parking development in St. Louis.
Assuming all possible taxes are incurred, the St. Louis store could
bring more than $6M in tax revenue to the city. In Kansas City the
22-acre Ikea development is expecting sales of more than $80 million per
year.
{Bloomington, MN IKEA – 336,000 sq. ft. on 15 acres}
The St. Louis IKEA would be one of the more urban locations in the US
and a big win for the city as the majority of locations scouted have
been in St. Louis County. The Forest Park Avenue site would just a
couple short blocks from a planned MetroLink station between Boyle
Avenue and Sarah Street. The station is being considered as part of the
expanding CORTEX
science and research district. The development is another leap forward
in development momentum for the city's central corridor. Recently, Whole Foods announced a store for the Central West End, the city is regaining a Mercedes dealership after a 15-year absence and several housing developments have been announced.
The area bordered by Forest Park, Vandeventer, Duncan and Sarah measures
approximately 16 acres, the majority of which is owned by Laclede Gas.
CORTEX owns several adjacent parcels to the south. Laclede Gas, located
at 720 Olive, has been considering a relocation of their headquarters
from downtown. The Post-Dispatch reported
in December that the company plans to stay in the city, but is
considering constructing a new building on nine acres they own along
Forest Park Avenue.
Much in the same way a Whole Foods can be a catalyst for development,
providing consumer metrics that lure other retailers and developers,
it's expected that an IKEA, and the consumer traffic it generates, would
lead to significant development of the surrounding area. A block east,
the long vacant Federal-Mogul site has been rumored at the site of a
Target store and other retailers in the past. Such efforts could be
revived with the IKEA development nearby.
*image added 3/11 {Laclede Gas holdings in blue, CORTEX in yellow, City
of St. Louis in Red – other colors represent various private ownership}