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New Rochelle Mayor Tells BOMA Delays Killed IKEA Project

WHITE PLAINS-New Rochelle Mayor Timothy Idoni says opposition from neighboring communities and the prospect of several years in delays caused IKEA's decision to walk away from building a 300,000 sf store in the city.

By John Jordan | Updated on February 08, 2001

WHITE PLAINS-About 75 commercial brokers heard New Rochelle Mayor Timothy Idoni say that current regional planning policies need to be modified in order to take into account the problems of urban centers in Westchester County. He also shared his views on the reasons behind IKEA’s pull-out from the New Rochelle project and what the loss means for the city.

Idoni, who was part of a panel discussion at yesterday’s (Feb. 8) meeting of the Building Owners and Managers Association, says several factors caused furniture retailer IKEA to abandon a plan to build a 300,000 sf store in the Fifth Avenue section of the city. He charges that the prospect of several years of delays to have ramps built on Exit 17 of I-95 to address traffic concerns, as well as staunch and vocal opposition from neighboring suburban communities such as Larchmont and Mamaroneck, killed the IKEA venture.

“What I experienced over the last four or five months in New Rochelle was opposition to a project, which in my mind possibly could have worked if given the time to do it… but found resistance from neighboring communities because of what they called ‘suburban sprawl,’” he notes.

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