Feb. 19--Furniture retailer Ikea said Thursday it is submitting final plans for a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center to the city of Joliet.
The Swedish company said it bought the land, about 72 acres at the Laraway Crossings Business Park in Joliet, in 2007. The project was approved by the Joliet City Council that year.
The company said it plans to begin construction in fall and open the center in 2017. The distribution center would serve the inventory and customer fulfillment needs of at least 10 Ikea stores throughout the Midwest, the company said.
Ikea is expanding on 2007 plans to build the first phase of a roughly 650,000-square-foot distribution center on the land. The plans were stalled that year as the company decided "it didn't quite need the (distribution center) yet," said company spokesman Joseph Roth. Plans to go ahead with a larger facility, Roth added, are an "indicator of our growth and our needs."
Since 2007, Ikea has expanded in the U.S. to 40 stores from 29. The company said it plans to open several stores over the next few years including in St. Louis, Las Vegas, Memphis, Tenn., and Columbus, Ohio.
"We are very happy to see this because it's an indicator of not only our industrial development, but I think a good signal for the retail industry," said John Greuling, president and chief executive officer of Will County Center for Economic Development. "If they feel confident to put up this distribution center, they must feel comfortable with retail."
Ikea has Chicago-area stores in Bolingbrook and Schaumburg.
crshropshire@chicagotribune.com
