What About an Ikea for St. Louis?
I’ve been an loyal Ikea shopper for about 15 years this month. I’ve been to five of their stores in the suburbs of Washington D.C., Seattle, New Jersey, Oakland (CA) and Chicago. Many of us in St. Louis make the pilgrimage to Chicago to buy great (& cheap) products.
I think we need an Ikea. Most people would likely agree. The issue of where should an Ikea go is the subject of debate. In the suburbs at St. Louis Mills Outlet Mall? Northwest Plaza? Crestwood? I’ve always thought in Illinois near a MetroLink line would be wise. Some want a store in the City of St. Louis – suggesting the old MSD location at I-44 and Hampton.
You can only vote once so make it count.
– Steve
Oh Steve, I’ve seen your house; and the basement of your other house (which is stacked to the ceiling). Don’t you already have enough crap? Must you continue buying MORE crap? I think your friends will have to perform an intervention and force you to have a yard sale before IKEA moves into town and makes your situation even worse. I fear for the future. You would become “Crazy IKEA-Stuff Man”.
Steve-
If this happens, I think I should get a commission…
I posted the idea that MSD/Street Department site should be redeveloped as a destination shopping center a year before the IKEA plan ever came up…
How does that expression go? Oh yeah: “commission in lieu of closing…”
RB
Stores like IKEA (at least in the U.S.) seem to really like visibility from interstate highways. And they also seem to like stand-alone stores better. So, the declining malls like Crestwood and Northwest would probably not fit the bill. Plus, the demographics around Northwest wouldn’t really suit their market.
I don’t think they usually go for the outlet mall locations, partly because there’s not much else around many of them. St. Louis Mills is in a flood plain in the middle of nowhere.
I could see Hampton and I-44 as an ideal location, though. It’s close to high-income households in the city and county, right on I-44 and a short hop down Hampton from Highway 40. And since the 40/170 jumble has just become overloaded with retail, I think they’d be smart to avoid that area.
Land prices along Highway 40 out west are probably too high, now, for such a big operation. The highway interchanges in the City are a much better deal.
But then, where will the Street Department go? The part of St. Louis Marketplace not taken up by Weismann’s? Wouldn’t THAT be ironic.
Gradually, I think we’ll see all four corners of most major highway interchanges in the City be developed on a large scale, except (hopefully!) in historic districts. Look at I-70 and Goodfellow – Home Depot is seriously considering that location.
Now, how about Jefferson at I-44? We’ve still got two grocery stores sitting empty there, and a large warehouse-type building on the SE corner that I think could certainly be reused. Just don’t mess with Barr Branch Library.
Sounds like a Metropolis project, Rick!
to see the tour
it works here…
http://www.lumpofcow.com/FPSE.wmv
or
http://www.lumpofcow.com/FPSE.mov
RB
I have been wishing for a St. Louis IKEA for years now. St. Louis could use a trendy but affordable shopping area, frankly. With the number of colleges in the area, IKEA would definitely do well with the dorm decor crowd.
Any ideas on how we get IKEA to consider it? 🙂
From an Post Dispatch article dated 6/23/05:
“FIGURE THIS: Scandinavian design, meet St. Ann? IKEA, the furniture and design superstore, apparently is headed to Northwest Plaza. The once-hot shopping center is down-at-the-heels but seems poised for a major makeover.
Westfield Group, which owns the mall, has been showing plans to potential tenants that include a free-standing IKEA store near the corner of Lindbergh Boulevard and St. Charles Rock Road. Part of the shopping center would be leveled and rebuilt as a “lifestyle center,” with stores that open to the outside.
IKEA has been perhaps the most hotly pursued retailer in St. Louis. Westfield officials did not return a phone call seeking comment.”
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/columnists.nsf/martinvanderwerf/story/A98B1773459BFC6286257029004A0119?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22IKEA%22
Steve, I am honestly surprised that you like Ikea so much. I’ve been to the store in Schaumburg (calling that “Chicago” is like someone calling Chesterfield “St. Louis City.”) and what I saw was a big, ugly box afloat in a sea of parking, surrounded by other parking lots for other icky big boxes. Yes, the store was colorful and it had an unusual shape, but it was still a big box. And it still had a giant parking lot.
Many of Ikea’s products do have neat, modern design, but it just doesn’t seem worth it to me. I remember checking labels last time I went to Ikea and seeing that a LOT of their products were made in countries where sweatshops and loose labor laws are common. I also saw a lot of things that just weren’t that well made, and/or that were made out of very cheap materials (they wanted HOW MUCH for a particle board dresser???).
I know nothing is perfect, and I certainly shop at my share of big boxes, though that’s largely a function of how small my paychecks have been lately. But still, for a store that’s supposed to be a paragon of good design, I don’t see why Ikea can’t use an old building, build something new that’s at least urban, or just find a way to reduce the size of them parkin’ lots. And…WHY can’t they build in the city? Chicago has lots of big boxes and chains in the city, but Ikea wouldn’t even try it there. And Ikea has certainly proven that it thinks it’s ok to demolish historic buildings for its big boxes, which is definitely not okay. If we hold other stores to these standards, why cut Ikea a break just cos it has younger, hipper products? That doesn’t sound right to me.
…but who knows. Maybe when Ikea locates in St. Louis City, I will shop there. It will be convenient–I can drive my car from the Ikea parking lot into the Bass Pro Shop parking lot and only have to make one trip.
[REPLY – First, I voted that the Ikea should be in the suburbs because it is a big box. The products are cheap and sometimes thats OK. As far as workers go I don’t know how to respond – is everything from certain countries made in sweat shops? Or is it possible that these countries have fare wage factories? Ikea does have green policies, such as being smart about packaging and reducing waste. I don’t know that they’ve ever torn down a building because every store I can think of were always built in green fields. Lots of stores sell low priced, low quality furniture and accessories. But Ikea is the only one that offers nice modern furniture at reasonable prices. – Steve]
One question: Do you have to put the stuff together when you get it home?
Yes?
Better a yard sale.
Save that cherry site for a Bass Pro Shop 😉
RB
Ikea in Seattle is near one of the Boeing plants. It’s in a valley along with miles of small, medium, and large warehouses and strip malls. Think of Earth City. The parking lot is covered. I don’t know if that was a design decision in order to break up the huge warehouse that it’s in or to keep the rain off of us while we’re loading our new stuff into our SUVs.
The best part about Ikea is the scratch and dent section. The longer an item sits in the scratch and dent area, the cheaper it gets. The popular items are still pretty expensive because they go quickly. But you can find some real bargains. I got a set of plates for a dollar. 3 nice pendant lights for 9.00. Plenty of other items. Right now I’m sitting in a desk chair straight outta the SnD section.
Anyway, no matter where they put it, Ikea will be good for STL. I voted for the city.
Hmm.
About workers, I’m no expert on Ikea’s foreign labor practices and I should learn more. Definitely some regions & factories are better than others, but when I see so many products made in certain countries being sold for prices like those in a big box store, it’s hard for me not to be suspicious.
As for demo, here are two articles about historic buildings Ikea has demolished to build stores:
Civil War era bldgs in Brooklyn (yeah, national trust, i know):
http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/archives/arc_news_2005/020905.htm
And Ikea is not always a friend of modern design:
http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arch_story/121903.htm
I still feel that though Ikea has neatly designed products, that’s not enough to make their anti-urban, pro-demo practices OK. I’m sure the target market folks for other big boxes also feel that you just can’t get that stuff for that price anywhere else, too (Have you heard the way people talk about Wal-Mart? I know their products might not seem special to you, but Ikea products probably don’t seem special to many Wal-Mart enthusiasts.). But if people are willing to drive all the way to Chicago and then to Schaumburg to get relatively affordable modern furniture, if they’re willing to put that much effort into it, surely there has to be some other place to get furniture they’d like without supporting a pro-demo big chain big box.
While personally I would prefer to purchase my furniture and home goods from local artisans, Ikea is not as bad a some of the other big boxes. Steve and I had this discussion some time ago and I did some research on Ikea after we talked. Ikea is more socially responsible than many of its competitors. They refuse to accept lumber from old growth forests and they will not purchase goods where child labor was used in the production. It is sad that meeting such minimal standards makes a company one of the most socially responsible retailers, but it does. I guess if you have to have more cheap junk, Ikea is the lesser of the evils. (You and Susan can go shopping at Ikea together b/c I know she will be right there next to you buying cheap junk for our house.)
You better get it now, b/c once peak oil hits goods from local artisans will be the best bargains available.
And if we have to build one, can it at least be close enough that we don’t have to get on the highway to get to it.
I am appalled that IKEA did not build its “Chicago” store in the city proper. Every big box retailer, even Wal-Mart, has been building in the city of Chicago in the last ten years. It’s no longer a risk to take there, and in fact the city of Chicago is actually seen as a highly desirable place for big-box retail. Most of the big boxes there look awful and sit behind parking lots, although Steve has shown one Home Depot (apparently more progressive than IKEA) that was situated right on the sidewalk line. IKEA chose to build at a location that’s outside of the CTA train system and over an hour’s drive from the city of Chicago.
A huge part of IKEA’s customer base in Chicagloand lives in the city or inner ring suburbs. Its choice of location makes no sense and is very conservative. Any eco-friendly elements to the store’s design seem mitigated by the fact that almost everyone drives many miles to get to the store there. (I have never been to it. When I lived in Chicago, I found ample retailers with comparable propducts willing to locate on bus lines, El lines, etc.)
I do hope that the IKEA company begins to realize that urban environments are worthy places to locate, and not simply by tearing down old buildings as they have done in Brooklyn. Imagine IKEA moving into one of the Cupples warehouses or into the Bottle District. Let’s urge them to drop their anti-urban inclinations.
The I-44/Hampton site is nice because it doesn’t back up to any residential neighborhood. I think much of the City desperately needs to preserve or restore its urban character, but there are rare pockets like the I-44/Hampton site that are too far gone as an auto-oriented environment and too disconnected from any other urban fabric.
But why not use these rare pockets to our advantage? Bring in retail outlets that have a market draw beyond City custormers, and our tax base certainly will benefit, while minimizing the disadvantages big boxes have on their surroundings.
And Joe, I think the warehouse on the SE corner of I-44/Jefferson is used by Johnnie Brocks. Besides, that interchange is surrounded by quality urban fabric (Lafayette Square, McKinley Hts, Fox Park), and the site is not as big to begin with as the former MSD/current City Streets site.
If anyone is lamenting about yet another big box development within the City, let’s focus on redeveloping Marketplace or Christy Plaza into a mixed use center. These sites sit much more within our urban fabric than the I-44/Hampton site.
I hate the idea of big box retailers in St. Louis City. St. Louis city already has enough empty parking lots where we could have booming business and skyscrapers…
If Ikea DOES hit the city, they should utilize a concept similar to the new Crate & Barrel in Brentwood. Keep it close to the city but make it fit certain requirements.
I think everything in St. Louis should be built with the future in mind. Think Chicago, Manhattan… build what you will but make it confrom to what we want our city to be.
I think an Ikea could be good for business but not if they don’t respect their surroundings. Big box retailers have a notorious lack of respect for communities. Let an ikea come to town, but make them contribute to the city, not just milk it for profit. Make them have underground parking, make them push their store up to the sidewalk. Look at the horror that is KMart on Manchester. An area that could be thriving with life is a vacant wasteland and a victim to cheap, money hungry retailers. If you want to make some money, build something bueatiful where people can feel comfortable and proud to spend their money.
If I see another parking lot in the city of St. Louis… (fill in the blank).
You can’t make an Ikea small. They need a certain footprint to make the concept work. Otherwise, there’s no way to have the showrooms and all of the storage so that customers can pick up and go. This is the type of business, that for better or worse, that depends on automotive traffic, having lots of space to load/unload, etc. I also don’t see where one can make the claim that there are so many parking lots that are waiting to be booming businesses and skyscrapers.
While the proposed IKEA site at the NE quadrant of I-44 and Hampton does not *back* to residences, there are houses directly across Hampton, also adjacent to I-44, in the unfortunately orphaned part of Clifton Heights (though the City officially considers them part of the Ellendale neighborhood).
They are located on streets called Eveline, Knox, Famous, and Clifton; many date to the 1890s, when this was the ‘foot’ of the neighborhood, primarily accessible by the railroad stop at Cheltenham.
Given the Drury Inn going up (eventually!) on the SW quadrant of the interchange, I wonder how much longer those houses will continue to stand.
Joe, what’s holding up the Drury anyway? I do feel for this unusual City pocket northwest of I-44/Hampton, much like I do for the St. Agatha pocket near I-55/Arsenal/Broadway.
But unlike the latter example, this pocket is even more isolated. At least the St. Agatha pocket has Utah bridging I-55 to link it to Benton Park. Meanwhile, this unusual “Lower Clifton” pocket has no access under or over I-44, indeed only two access points. The pocket can only be accessed from Manchester via Knox Avenue across multiple, busy railroad tracks or off Hampton at an often blocked, unsignalized Evenline Avenue, despite its “do not block intersection” sign.
The only stranger City pocket than this one has already disappeared for the new Shrewsbury-Lansdowne-I-44 MetroLink station, where homes sat isolated between the BSNF railroad and River Des Peres. I suspect yet another hotel or strip retail will seal the fate of this “Lower Clifton” pocket too.
However, though this pocket sits across Hampton from the former MSD offices, only one of its homes comes even close to facing Hampton, a mid-century hillside ranch on the corner of Eveline. Most of the homes, including the area’s typically older, multi-story frames are along internal streets of this odd pocket, like Famous and Wilson Avenues.
Good news for IKEA: the invention of the parking garage. Their footprint can be smaller, the building can be as big as needed, customers can still load in and out, and they can eliminate the need for surface lots.
Someone at IKEA seems to know how to build a small footprint urban store, because the Brooklyn store — the one that’s destroying the 19th century warehouses — will be relatively small with parking provided in a garage. This person somehow forgot that some IKEA shoppers might like 19th century warehouses more than new boxes — but at least the plan does not include any surface parking.
IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
i won’t believe it until i see it. this Ikea rumor comes around several times a year, always from the same hopeful sources. i’m a HUGE Ikea fan myself, just went up to chicago a few weeks ago (and planning another trip in the fall….).
….i’ll believe it when i see it….
reason being, it is not a wise business decision for them. look at st louis — too small of a market even if you add in the 250 mile radius. take a look at this year’s new (and planned) stores on their website. take a look at the MAJOR metropolitan areas which still DO NOT HAVE an Ikea anywhere near them.
Atlanta just gone one. Dallas just got one; not even hippy, college-bustling (and now a very large populus, more than STL) Austin doesn’t even have one planned. DC doesn’t have one. Denver. Portland. Tampa. Miami… in fact, nowhere in Florida.
plus, STL is too close to chicago which is soon to have TWO stores. KC would be their wiser choice with rich Johnson county and other metro areas such as Tulsa, Springfield, and Lawrence.
it’s just not a wise business move since it costs some $300mm to build and takes over 2 years to plan and construct.
Not gonna happen. even if it does, northwest plaza? yeah right! have you all been over there lately? it has become so run down and trashy… Ikea may have cheap merchandise, but they’ll build where the money is — chesterfield valley or o’fallon (plenty of land out near mastercard!)
^Maybe 30 million, but no way 300 million to build a big box store. As for IKEA itself, I don’t really care.
Woops, typo… yes, 30 million.
I can see why people have such a hard-on for IKEA, it’s modern design for cheap. But the overall look, which people like to simulate is really rather cold and makes living spaces look less like homes and more like museums. Not lived in as much as “presented.”
I’m only interested in IKEA insofar that it could bring in a lot of revenue to the city if it is placed in the city.
What I’m more upset about is stores like Urban Outfitters or H&M not opening up independent, free-standing storefronts in the city. So much more in keeping with their format and would have been a great boost to these city streets.
just because ikea’s merchandise isn’t country-fied and neutral beigh doesn’t make it cold. it’s called contemporary in art & design terms.
“Many of us in St. Louis make the pilgrimage to Chicago to buy great (& cheap) products.”
Steve, overall I enjoy reading your ideas about the page and learning more about Saint Louis since I am a new resident. However, you are so off about this IKEA idea. There is no IKEA in Chicago. Tourists traveling for IKEA in IL are giving their money to the outer suburbs- not the city itself. There are two IKEAs in the outer suburbs of Chicago- Shaumberg and Bolingbrook in other words- Boo-Fuu IL. While IKEA does have urban locations in the US, Chicago is not one them and we would consider it big box shopping.
I-44 and Hampton needs to be fixed up stat- but IKEAs not consistent with the feel of the area. One thing that is needed is some type of real grocery store in Soulard. Either that, or the city needs to establish consistent standards the goods sold at the Soulard Farmers Market. But alas, I get off topic.
[REPLY – Yes, the Ikea is not in Chicago. But, when I go to Ikea I most definently go to Chicago! I agree that Ikea doesn’t fit in the city. I’d locate it someone in the already sprawling burbs but preferably along a MetroLink line. – SLP]
IKEA would be best near the Galleria. Unfortunately, there’s not enough space there. Northwest Plaza is a terrible idea. They already overhauled the place a few years back, and it just went downhill.
St. Louis Center might be good if and when all the new loft apts are full.
I think the best bet right now is Chesterfield Valley. Tons of space, everything is new, good demographics.
I have yet to set foot in an Ikea but my friends swear by it, and I’ve seen the catalogs. Hoping to make the pilgrimage to Schaumburg one of these days!
Actually, what about the parking lot to the south of Galleria next to 40. You get your free-standing store and visibility from the highway all at once. That lot is only utilized from T’giving to New Year’s it seems.
Ikea is the Scandianavian / Eurasian Walmart. At least the stuff is easy on the eyes. And many items are just so danged well designed. Worth supporting a company that believes in design – graphic, ergonomic, practical, functional and aesthetic!
Yes, we need one in St. Louis. A big box retail in St. Louis is a heck of a lot more sustainable than the gas it takes to go all the way out to Chicago. Which I know for a fact many many people do just for Ikea.
I read an article in the Washington Post one time about IKEA’s labor practices. Essentially, the article said that IKEA always does the bare minimum that the country requires. In other words, in Sweden, they treat their workers great in compliance with the law. In the US, they treat their workers like crap.
To make a correction to an above comment, the DC metro area does have an IKEA. In fact, the city actually hosts two IKEAs, one in College Park, MD (north side of the city near the University of Maryland) and one in Woodbridge, VA (southern side of the city at Potomac Mills). I know some people have complained about sprawling parking lots and whatnot, but having frequented the Woodbridge, VA IKEA store, I can testify that their parking is nearly 100% underground; I suppose they’ll make that decision based upon the location they can secure.
Given the nature of St. Louis and the type of audience that would shop at IKEA, I could see a location either out in Chesterfield at Boones Crossing or in Brentwood/Clayton in the general Galleria area. The latter may work better given the much younger and affluent demographic (easy access to WashU, SLU, Central West End, Clayton, Ladue). Perhaps another option would be off of Hadley near the Walmart and Lowes?
I'm so love this blog, already bookmarked it! Thanks.
IKEA in St Louis is no longer just a dream!! I did a Google search for “IKEA.com” and an ad popped up for a delivery service in St Louis, http://www.nexusstl.com/. They drive to the Bolingbrook IKEA store every 3-4 weeks, so they will pick your order up and deliver it to your door… Not bad, considering the shipping fees at IKEA.com, if the item is even sold online. And in my opinion it's well worth their shipping fees to not have to drive to Chicago, especially since I was planning to rent a truck and it would've been pretty expensive in the end.
There is another way to get your IKEA fix in the St. Louis area!
What We Do
Our process is really quite simple to explain – You find the items you want to buy from IKEA®, you place your order on our website, we will drive to the IKEA® store and fight the Chicago traffic as well as the long lines in the store, then we deliver your order to your door! You never leave home, and we'll do all the work for you. It couldn't get much easier!
http://www.NexusSTL.com
IKEA St. Louis Home Delivery by Nexus Furniture Delivery
What We Do
Our process is really quite simple to explain – You find the items you want to buy from IKEA®, you place your order on our website, we will drive to the IKEA® store and fight the Chicago traffic as well as the long lines in the store, then we deliver your order to your door! You never leave home, and we'll do all the work for you. It couldn't get much easier!
http://www.NexusSTL.com
I’ve always thought in Illinois near a MetroLink line would be wise. Some want a store in the City of St. Louis – suggesting the old MSD location at I-44 and Hampton.
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