NORFOLK, Va. — Soon Richmonders will not have to fight D.C. traffic to shop at IKEA, they can choose instead to fight traffic in Hampton Roads!
The home furnishing store hopes to open a new store in Norfolk. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and IKEA officials are expected to make the announcement later Tuesday morning.
“We are excited at the possibility of growing our Southeastern U.S. presence with a Norfolk store,” IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson said. “A location in this retail corridor would provide our nearly 35,000 Hampton Roads customers their own store and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to others throughout southeast Virginia.”
IKEA’s other Virginia location is in Woodbridge, outside Washington, D.C.
The proposed Norfolk location would be at the northwestern corner of Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard, IKEA spokesperson Joseph Roth said.
“Located centrally within the Hampton Roads area, and eight miles east of downtown Norfolk, the 331,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and 1,000 parking spaces would be built on 19 acres,” Roth said. “Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide.”
Once built, the store would employ about 250 workers.
“Pending approvals, construction of the proposed IKEA Norfolk store could begin in Spring 2017, with an opening in Summer 2018,” Roth said. “This project would represent the third significant investment by IKEA in the state of Virginia. Besides this proposed Norfolk store and the store in Woodbridge, there also is an IKEA furniture factory in Danville that opened in 2008.”
