The long awaitedDenver Colorado IKEA location in Centennial, Colorado is still in the planning stages and despite slow progress and a flagging economy, is moving forward. A store of approximately 400,000 square feet will occupy nearly all of the 13.5-acre site located near the Park Meadows Mall, between South Dayton Street and Interstate 25, approximately 15 miles south of downtown Denver. IKEA announced their plans…

Read also: It’s Official: IKEA Coming to Denver, Colorado
IKEA Denver Store Opening Date Announced
Colorado’s IKEA Centennial (Denver) Becoming a Reality!

to build in Centennial in 2008.

At a press conference with Centennial, CO city officials, Doug Greenholz, U.S. real estate manager for IKEA said,

We are thrilled to submit plans for IKEA Centennial where we can build upon our western U.S. presence. This proposed IKEA store would bring existing Colorado customers a store of their own and would introduce other Coloradans to the unique IKEA product selection and family-friendly shopping experience.”

The Denver IKEA is expected to feature 50 room settings and three model home interiors in addition to the usual selection of nearly 10,000 IKEA products stocked in store. 1700 parking spaces including preferred parking for families will be available.

IKEA expects to create 500 jobs during the construction phase, which has been scheduled, but not yet announced. Construction generally takes about 18 months, but because of the difficulty of the hilly terrain this build may take longer due to the hillside location and the rocky terrain. Denver lies in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

In addition to the construction jobs, 400 jobs will be created for c0-workers in the retail store. IKEA requires applicants to complete an online application to initiate the job application process.  See How to Get Hired at IKEA for tips on applying for a job to work at IKEA. Generally, once hiring announcements are made, the timeline is about six to nine months until the store opens.

IKEA store openings are known for festivities, including a traditional Swedish log cutting ceremony, music, and giveaways. IKEA Fans have camped out as long as 2 weeks ahead of a grand opening to be first in line, but in recent years, IKEA has restricted campers to gathering beginning at 9am on the Monday morning prior to an opening.  In the US, IKEA Grand Openings are usually held on Wednesdays.

Nearby Park Meadows Mall in neighboring Lone Tree is Denver’s 2nd largest shopping area. IKEA originally considered a building site in Lone Tree, but the plans were not approved by the city because the bright blue and yellow box did not meet with the city’s guidelines for design.

Centennial Colorado is in the southern Denver metropolitan area in Arapahoe County, CO.  Nearby cities and towns include Aurora, Englewood, Foxfield, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch (unincorporated Douglas County), Littleton, Lone Tree, and Parker.

IKEA Colorado already has a following – see www.ColoradoIKEAFans.com for updated information, and follow Dave on Twitter @ColoradoIKEAFANS

Tags: IKEA Centennial, IKEA Colorado, IKEA Denver, IKEA US, IKEA USA, New IKEA Stores

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 2:21 AM by Susan and is filed under IKEA Related News, IKEA Store News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.