Well, there's a thought. A development in which the city might actually make money!
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^^Agree with you 100%! I think anyone that wants to be negative or say that they do
not care about IKEA, there are clear benefits, that go well beyond our ability
to buy Swedish furniture. As you mentioned, tax revenue, perception and new development to
compliment other new projects, are what we should be looking at in regards to
benefits. Those of you who are being negative because you cannot understand the
hype surrounding IKEA, should look beyond that. This is a major international
retailer, that hires a ton of people, has a huge store and brings a positive
perception in most places. There can only be great things, that come from this
store locating in the City. I hope this is not another rumor or let down.
It also feeds our egos, relating to the STL-KC "rivalry", that was recently
ignited by the KC Star.
not care about IKEA, there are clear benefits, that go well beyond our ability
to buy Swedish furniture. As you mentioned, tax revenue, perception and new development to
compliment other new projects, are what we should be looking at in regards to
benefits. Those of you who are being negative because you cannot understand the
hype surrounding IKEA, should look beyond that. This is a major international
retailer, that hires a ton of people, has a huge store and brings a positive
perception in most places. There can only be great things, that come from this
store locating in the City. I hope this is not another rumor or let down.
It also feeds our egos, relating to the STL-KC "rivalry", that was recently
ignited by the KC Star.
Aww don't get me wrong! St. Louis is my hometown, and I'm all for benefiting the city. I have just been hearing IKEA stories for too many years to count now. I can name about 4 locations where this store was supposed to go. I'm just ready for it to happen so we can stop hearing about it 
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For those unaccustomed to the nuances of corporate communications, this may be a good opportunity to notice what is and is not being stated. From Pace Properties: "Ikea is committed to having a presence in St. Louis but no decisions on a site have been made final."
...made final...
1. Decisions on a site have been made.
2. Those decisions have not been made final ... meaning contracts.
3. This means it's no longer a question of three competing sites for an Ikea. It's now a question of one specific site and whether or not the numbers can work.
Per standard procedure, those involved in this project have been asked to not comment. There is a lot of preliminary design work to be done, negotiations with landowners and neighbors, city approvals, etc. Once Ikea is certain this will work, then they will make an announcement. At this point, though, the dating is drawing to a close and talk is of engagement.
...made final...
1. Decisions on a site have been made.
2. Those decisions have not been made final ... meaning contracts.
3. This means it's no longer a question of three competing sites for an Ikea. It's now a question of one specific site and whether or not the numbers can work.
Per standard procedure, those involved in this project have been asked to not comment. There is a lot of preliminary design work to be done, negotiations with landowners and neighbors, city approvals, etc. Once Ikea is certain this will work, then they will make an announcement. At this point, though, the dating is drawing to a close and talk is of engagement.
^I will not be surprised when the land deals, approvals, etc don't get accomplished when working with the City.
I really hope this happens on this site. The central core from downtown to the cwe and from the grove to delmar has really come a long way. I hope the city's minority participation requirement doesn't hinder any new development like this. Andy yes, I have heard from city developers/ construction firms that it doesn't help and is almost impossible to abide by.
IKEA in July of 2012 before they officially announced their KC store location in Merriam, Kansas:
The store's location in Merriam was officially announced in September 2012. That doesn't mean the STL location is on the same timeframe, but we can all hope there will be an announcement by at least year's end.
Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said the retailer always evaluates major markets where it does not have a store but has no plans for a new U.S. store for this year or next.
“We don’t have plans for a store yet,” he said. “We recognize that (the Kansas City market) is large enough to support an Ikea store. We’re not there yet.”
Ikea’s Roth said “we have not committed to a time frame for the Kansas City area.”
Source - http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/p ... l?page=allRoth said the Kansas City market meets criteria that Ikea looks for when it evaluates expansion targets. Namely, the metropolitan area has more than 2 million people.
As for specific sites, he said Ikea typically looks for 20 to 30 acres, usually adjacent to a highway.
The store's location in Merriam was officially announced in September 2012. That doesn't mean the STL location is on the same timeframe, but we can all hope there will be an announcement by at least year's end.
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Thanks to everyone following this story - I'm happy to answer questions if you have any. Suffice to say, we're confident in the story and to once again reiterate, what we know is that the city/Pace/IKEA is working hard to build at this location. That does not mean that we (or anyone) "knows" it will be built here.
Is there any reason to believe this story is more likely to come to fruition than its predecessors?
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^Yes. I understand that people think they've been hearing these "rumors" for a long time. I think many are just that - Fenton, Chesterfield, etc. The only item I've heard in years with any teeth was the Hadley Heights development. That was a go - and would have been announced before KC - if the last couple homes could have been purchased. It didn't happen, so on to another plan. The FP site is the focus for IKEA, Pace and the city. Nothing's guaranteed, but I think the "rumor" tag is only for people not paying attention.
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Seems like if land assemblage can come in at the right price and probably a new highway ramp as well, this is the site. Fortunately, no buying out of homes is needed for this which killed the Hanley site.
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Potentially getting an IKEA would be great for St. Louis and everything but potentially getting an IKEA within the city limits would be a minor miracle. That would be quite a coup nobody saw coming.
How bizarre would it be for Chesterfieldians to have to drive to the city to do some shopping?
How bizarre would it be for Chesterfieldians to have to drive to the city to do some shopping?
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No kidding. And aside from IKEA, it really is amazing how much else is coming online in the central corridor this next year or two.... Shriners Hospital, Cortex, the BJC building with that cool dining/market concept, Whole Foods are awesome and even the Aventura, Mercedes, Highlands and Dogtown apartment building show confidence in the area. I do expect more great developments to follow on the Cortex work even if IKEA doesn't work out.leeharveyawesome wrote:Potentially getting an IKEA would be great for St. Louis and everything but potentially getting an IKEA within the city limits would be a minor miracle. That would be quite a coup nobody saw coming.
How bizarre would it be for Chesterfieldians to have to drive to the city to do some shopping?
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One of the best things this article does is raise awareness that STL is in the running and put added public pressure on the city to close the deal. If they bungle this and it ends up in the suburbs in either MO or IL, we can hold them accountable and ask how they blew it.
The STL Biz Journal got IKEA's Roth to open up a little more!
Ikea: St. Louis still prime location, no site selected
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... ation.html
"Ikea has tapped Pace Properties to help the furniture company identify potential sites in the metro area, according to Roth. But, Roth added, there are no concrete plans at the moment."
"Still, Ikea views St. Louis as a viable market for a new location, according to Roth. “We typically need a population base of 2 million people to support one store,” he said. Plus, he added, the furniture company likes to have its stores located within close proximity to its distribution network."
The STL Metro has approx. 36 college and universities (more than most cities at 3 million people) and many of those are within the city or inner burbs. No to mention that IKEA would also draw from the Metro East higher Education schools like SIUE. In addition, located off of I-64 and on the METRO system would be ideal. The area is one of the metro's busiest and largest living districts and surrounded by attractions, businesses, workers, tourists, and shopping venues. The burbs die at 7p.m. --- The CWE is the most cosmopolitan district in the entire Greater STL and bustling.
Ikea: St. Louis still prime location, no site selected
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... ation.html
"Ikea has tapped Pace Properties to help the furniture company identify potential sites in the metro area, according to Roth. But, Roth added, there are no concrete plans at the moment."
"Still, Ikea views St. Louis as a viable market for a new location, according to Roth. “We typically need a population base of 2 million people to support one store,” he said. Plus, he added, the furniture company likes to have its stores located within close proximity to its distribution network."
The STL Metro has approx. 36 college and universities (more than most cities at 3 million people) and many of those are within the city or inner burbs. No to mention that IKEA would also draw from the Metro East higher Education schools like SIUE. In addition, located off of I-64 and on the METRO system would be ideal. The area is one of the metro's busiest and largest living districts and surrounded by attractions, businesses, workers, tourists, and shopping venues. The burbs die at 7p.m. --- The CWE is the most cosmopolitan district in the entire Greater STL and bustling.
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How do we know that by publicizing this rumor that it wont disrupt negotiations and kill the deal?
How would it kill the deal?downtown2007 wrote:How do we know that by publicizing this rumor that it wont disrupt negotiations and kill the deal?
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I presume by property owners gaining leverage in site negotiations. Plus you may see an influx of politicians who want to "meddle" to get their fingerprint on this deal...stlien wrote:How would it kill the deal?downtown2007 wrote:How do we know that by publicizing this rumor that it wont disrupt negotiations and kill the deal?
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Yes by making this known to the public it has now perked the interest of land owners, politicians, developers, building owners for the current site, etc. People that would not have known about this now want to get in on the action therein complicating negotiations. Why do you think they keep these negotiations hush hush?
Hopefully the following questions were asked by before deciding to make the information public. How would NextSTL benefit by breaking this news on their site? If we break this news, what implications could it have on the negotiations?
I thinks it’s great that Who Lou provides business news for this site but let’s not lose focus on NextSTL’s main purpose. An Activist Blog for Urban issues.
Hopefully the following questions were asked by before deciding to make the information public. How would NextSTL benefit by breaking this news on their site? If we break this news, what implications could it have on the negotiations?
I thinks it’s great that Who Lou provides business news for this site but let’s not lose focus on NextSTL’s main purpose. An Activist Blog for Urban issues.
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^ Well, to be honest, nextSTL isn't one thing. It's what (primarily) I want it to be. I don't mean that in an arrogant way at all, but this site (the blog side, not the forum, which is what all of you make it) covers whatever we happen to have time and interest to cover. For better or worse, it's not a laser-focused operation with a concrete business plan and a list of things we do and don't do. Sometimes we stretch - the news that the SLU Law dean was resigning (not the latest interim dean) fell in our lap and I did little other than post the PDF and some quotes from when she was hired. That remains the most read story in nextSTL history. nextSTL.com appeared online and in print in the Wall Street Journal. That's fun. Was the story central to the core mission of nextSTL? Not really. All of that said, I am seeking more focus, more contributors and new ideas for the site. If I had to say what nextSTL is, I'd say a hub for conversation about the city, how it works, who runs it and why. It's civics, basically. The activist part is certainly at the core what I try to do, but it's certainly not everything. Going forward it would be great to develop distinct departments (like any news org) - news, commentary, original research, educational, advocacy. Anyway, sorry to ramble, but have been giving this quite a bit of thought lately.
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I'd like to thanks to Alex for all his hard work. Thanks for breaking the story and keep up the good work!
The article title was misleading but that has since been changed. And as far as this article disrupting negotionations, let's just say that I will NOT be blaming Alex and Geoff if/when Ikea sets up shop in an alternate location.
The article title was misleading but that has since been changed. And as far as this article disrupting negotionations, let's just say that I will NOT be blaming Alex and Geoff if/when Ikea sets up shop in an alternate location.
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So at what point is personal satisfaction more important than what is best for the city and its residents? Is that what we are all on here trying to change?
Again please respect my criticism, I am just trying to get a clear understanding what the blog was trying to accomplish by reporting this.
Again please respect my criticism, I am just trying to get a clear understanding what the blog was trying to accomplish by reporting this.