Groundbreaking Set for 353,000-SF Ikea

TAMPA, FL-With demolition and site preparation completed, Swedish retailer Ikea is expected to begin construction in a few months on a 353,000-sf store on 29 acres at the former Tampa International Center industrial park.

As previously reported, the site is at the southeast corner of 22nd Street and Adamo Drive, near the Ybor City historic district. The store will feature 1,700 parking spaces, three model homes, 50 room settings, a children’s play area and a 300-seat restaurant featuring Swedish and American food. “With our land purchased, team selected and permits secured, we are on schedule to open Ikea Tampa in summer 2009,” says Ikea real estate manager Michael Maier.

The seller of the property where the store will be located, Panattoni Development Co., was responsible for the demolition of previously existing structures, environmental cleanup and site preparation.

The Tampa Division of Florida-based Williams Co., which also completed Ikea Orlando last fall, will serve as construction manager of the project. Others involved with the project include Orlando-based Lochrane Engineering and Tampa-based Kimley-Horn and Associates, which are handling civil design; Tampa-based WilsonMiller, which is handling planning and zoning; and architect GreenbergFarrow, which is handling local store design, site planning and construction drawings. Universal Sciences is providing environmental analysis and geotechnical services, and Tampa-based Foley & Lardner is serving as legal counsel. Real estate brokerage firm the Shopping Center Group assisted in the site-selection process.

This will be the third Ikea store in Florida, with stores in Sunrise and Orlando having opened last year. Other Ikeas in the southeast include stores in Atlanta and Woodbridge, VA, with another store slated to open next spring in Charlotte, NC.