With Swedish furniture retailer Ikea opening its first Coloradostore in Centennial in a week, officials on Wednesday gave members of the media a glimpse of the 415,000-square-foot store, located off Interstate 25 between County Line and Dry Creek roads.
“We’ve been made to feel enormously welcome by the community,” said Ikea spokeswoman Annie Boeckman.
The massive blue-and-yellow furniture and home furnishings store is the 38th in the United States to open and the 324th in the world.
Store officials will allow customers to begin standing in line at 9 a.m. Monday. While tents are OK, RVs are not.
Centennial officials are bracing for perhaps thousands of cars and pedestrians with directional signs on the streets around the store, west of Interstate 25. Electronic reader boards visible from I-25 will direct shoppers to County Line Road to get to the store, then direct them to Dry Creek Road when exiting, in an attempt to create a circular flow of traffic.
Area businesses have been supplied with mirror-tag credentials so Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies can allow workers to their places of business near the store, mostly at Waterview III at 8000 S. Chester St., Waterview IV, 7958 S. Chester St. and Jones International, 9697 E. Mineral Ave.
Access to Nichols Avenue between Chester and Dayton Streets will be limited to credentialed vehicles, according to a memo from Centennial.
The store has 1,500 on-site parking spaces and has arranged for 1,500 more at area businesses, Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said. Employees in the first few days will park off site and be shuttled to the store.
RTD light rail users at the Dry Creek station can ride a free shuttle to the store, along with a 50 percent off coupon for deliveries, until July 31, he said.
“It’s like any large sporting event or coming to an amusement park,” Roth said.
People get excited for the openings for one of several reasons, said Roth, who has opened 27 Ikea stores in recent years.
“The fact that we’re not everywhere adds to that excitement,” he said. “We also bring an international flavor to the community. Many are glad to see their metro area in the same category as New York or Philadelphia.”
Grand opening ceremonies, with a host of local and state government officials, are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. July 27 with the ceremonial cutting of a log — a Swedish tradition when completing a new home.
__________________________________________________________________________
Interested in retail near the Colorado Ikea?
Check out our listing at Centennial Promenade, download brochure here.
For more information, contact: Rich Hobbs at (720) 287-6865 or Rhonda Brown at (720) 287-6866.
Party City and Pizza Doodle coming soon to Cherry Knolls Shopping Center in Centennial, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
Five Guys Burgers & Fries opening soon at Arapahoe Marketplace in Greenwood Village, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
7-Eleven coming soon to… 1107 S Sheridan Blvd in Lakewood, CO; 2350 Hancock Expressway in Colorado Springs, CO; 71st & Tower Rd in Aurora, CO; Holly & Evans in Denver, CO. Broker: Andy Buettner.
Westbrook Cleaners will join Standley Lake Shopping Center in Westminster, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
Watch out for the NEW Regis Salon opening at 3544 New Center Blvd in Colorado Springs, CO. Brokers: Rhonda Brown and Scott Steputis.
Yummy Yogurt will open at Applewood Shopping Center in Wheat Ridge, CO. Broker: Scott Crosbie.
1-2-3 Pho coming soon to Village Center West in Highlands Ranch, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
Ritz Camera leased 895 S Colorado Blvd in Denver, CO. Brokers: Scott Steputis & Rich Hobbs.
2111 S Sheridan in Denver, CO sold to BVV House, LLC. Brokers: Scott Steputis & Rich Hobbs.
Sally Beauty Supply opening at Westview Shopping Center in Longmont, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
Rocky Mountain Sewing & Vacuum will open it’s doors at Arbor Village in Arvada, CO. Broker: Rich Otterstetter.
crosbierealestategroup 