The heat is on

Ikea Looking To Build Store In Ohio - this is on a number of wires today.

Nothing definite from all accounts I’ve spoken to. But - I will throw this out there for what it is: an undocumented but highly prevalent rumor that is gaining strength and validity with multiple reports from multiple areas of retail/development. None of this is coming from the same people, places or offices. This is a widespread information leak. Can they all be wrong?

I’ve had people who work in zoning boards contact me to say a municipality in the Cinci area they work for had sadly turned IKEA down due to their sheer size requirements (they just didn’t have enough room in the township) I bet they could kick themselves if it’s really true - and it might not be. The tax income they would miss out on is amazing.

I’ve also gotten that IKEA is currently looking in West Chester/Union Center Blvd again. Now that’s something I’ve had confirmed about a year ago with a local realtor who had shown them some land there, but did say they hadn’t discussed it since.

Now, to be perfectly honest with you all when I call these various municipality zoning boards or realty individuals who are supposedly “in the know” they reply with cryptic things like “I haven’t talked specifically to anyone from IKEA” or “I can neither confirm or deny” type stuff that could mean anything. It could mean nothing. Frankly, it probably means nothing.

As with all investigation of this sort there’s one truth - if the answer was no, they’d say no. No one has a problem with denying things. Knowing how secretive IKEA likes to be until the BIG news comes out. No one will know for sure until Joe Roth with IKEA hits send on the press release.

Five seconds after I get the Google alert you’ll see it here.

Here’s some other stuff I’ve been told as late, of course I don’t have anything but hearsay on this, so take it for what it is:

1: Cleveland is out of the running, it’s just too close to Pittsburgh. Large stores (like Detroit) I was told are expected to make $77Mil + a year, or there abouts, so they of course would not want to cannibalize sales in preexisting stores, a Cleveland store would certainly do that as it would no doubt be bigger than the piddly widdle 125K Sq. ft. Pittsburgh store. (Schaumburg is 400K sq.ft.)

2: IKEA wants to build a midwest distribution center. Word is they have over 7 trucks a day going to Detroit and Chicagoland stores, and the fuel costs in shipping from the east coast (where their other centers are) are utmost in their mind. Cost is the bottom line at IKEA. A distribution center will certainly help lead to more midwestern stores, and Ohio/Indiana is a natural match being on 70, and close to existing stores. Ohio possibly more so since we have more interstate roadage than any other state and being on 70 and 75 have that NSEW hub action already going on.

All that being said, I haven’t heard a peep about Columbus in months. I think they too are out of the running as all the hints/whispers the last several weeks has been about the SW Ohio/Cincinnati Quadrant.

Cincinnati/SW Ohio is where it’s at I think if they want that indianapolis-louisville-lexington-cincinnati-dayton-columbus business sphere. Hey they might even pull from Nashville since it’d just be up 75. (or near it, if they took the 71 side of North Cinci - where to be honest there is loads of room, but well, on 71. Sure, Ohio maybe a “perplexing market” with our cities dotting 71 and 75 like a pearl necklace, but I don’t think we’re close together as much as just not all in one big clump. I think most Ohioans actually think all our cities are far flung from each other.

The good news in all of this is the last month Ohio is definitely HOT in Ikea’s mind, and on everyone’s lips. If they are looking, or better yet buying, we’ll know soon. I am positive they ARE looking. I’ll post more as I have it.

I’d like to say I’ll be the first to announce it, but I am not arrogant enough to believe that. If I just score a pre-opening ticket I’ll be happy. A girl can dream right?