IKEA has submitted plans to the city of Grand Prairie for what would be the Swedish retailer’s second North Texas store and fourth in the state.
Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Grand Prairie would begin in summer 2016, with an opening in fall 2017, according to a news release. The company currently operates Texas stores in Frisco, Houston and Round Rock.
The Grand Prairie location would span 293,000 square feet on 32 acres along the eastern side of State Highway 161 and Mayfield Road, north of Interstate 20.
“This proposed store would complement our Metroplex presence established in Frisco and bring the unique family-friendly shopping experience closer to customers in other parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” said Lars Petersson, the company’s U.S. president, commenting in a news release.
IKEA Grand Prairie would feature almost 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes.
In addition to the more than 500 jobs expected to be created during the construction phase, more than 300 co-workers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens, the company said. IKEA Grand Prairie also would provide annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.
Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA said it strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense.
IKEA evaluates store locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations, has solar arrays at 90 percent of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.
IKEA operates more than 370 stores in 47 countries, including 41 in the U.S. More information is available at IKEA-USA.com.