May 8 2013
With company representatives, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground for its future Miami-Dade store that is slated to open Summer 2014 in Sweetwater, Florida.
Architectural Rendering of Proposed IKEA Miami (opening by Summer 2014) (Photo: Business Wire)
Until IKEA Miami opens as the 2nd IKEA store in South Florida and fourth in the Sunshine state, customers can shop at Broward County’s IKEA Sunrise or online at IKEA-USA.com. (Two other Florida IKEA stores are located in Orlando and Tampa.)
The 416,000 square-foot future IKEA Miami, and 1,500 parking spaces, will be built in the City of Sweetwater on 14.6 acres adjacent to the Dolphin Mall at the intersection of the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) and Florida’s Turnpike. IKEA has contracted with Balfour Beatty Construction to oversee the project, and store plans reflect the unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate solar generation potential for this store to complement the presence of renewable energy generation at nearly 90% of its current U.S. locations.
“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to our many South Florida customers who live in Miami-Dade and are currently shopping at IKEA Sunrise. The store also will attract new Miami-Dade customers who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had a chance to shop at an IKEA store,” said Mike Ward, IKEA US president. “Additionally, in these uncertain economic times, we are excited to be making such a sizeable investment that will create jobs and tax revenue for the local community.”
IKEA Miami will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 600-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 750 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 350 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Miami also will generate significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.
Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should look online at IKEA-USA.com, where they will be able to apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Also, setting itself apart, IKEA Miami will offer approximately 70 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.