(For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

ORLANDO-IKEA has begun to move dirt for its 309,000-sf store rising on 22 acres here. The store will be the Swedish retailer's second property in Florida and officials are eyeing a late fall opening.

The construction start comes six months after the Orlando City Council approved plans for the store in August. The store, just the third IKEA in the Southeast, will be located off Eastgate Drive south of Conroy Road, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

"Now that construction is under way, it is exciting to see actual physical progress towards the future of IKEA Orlando," said David Iemolo, IKEA real estate director, in a statement. The store will feature three model homes, 50 room settings, a supervised children's play area and a 300-seat restaurant, according to IKEA officials. The property will also contain 1,200 parking spaces.

The Orlando store will open its doors just behind the early fall opening of the IKEA in Sunrise--which will be the retailer's first Florida location. IKEA made its first inroads into the Southeast with the June 2005 opening of its Atlanta store. In addition, the retailer is also developing a 1.7-million-sf distribution center in Savannah, as GlobeSt.com has also previously reported.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.