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CANTON, MI-Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has begun work on its long-awaited Detroit area store. The company began demolition this week on a former Super Kmart store that will give way to a future IKEA, opening summer 2006 in Canton Township. The 311,000-sf store will become the 28th IKEA store in the US, and fourth in the Upper Midwest.

"We are thrilled that work is now underway on the site of the future IKEA Canton," says Pat Merwin, an IKEA real estate manager. "It is an exciting opportunity for us to bring our unique family-friendly shopping experience closer to Michigan customers who currently are driving to Chicago or Toronto. IKEA Canton will allow them to visit IKEA more frequently, while also introducing IKEA to new customers who may not know us yet."

The new store will be on 21 acres at the intersection of Ford and Haggerty roads off Interstate 275 and will include a 250-seat restaurant. Once it is in operation, a total of 350 people will work at the store.