Ikea’s site plan for its 269,000-square-foot store on a 42-acre site near Interstate 40 and Germantown Parkway was given the green light by the Memphis-Shelby County Land Use Control Board on Thursday, Feb. 12.

Site plan for Ikea's Memphis store

(Ikea)

Ikea will rename Market Plaza Drive “Ikea Way” and was allowed to alter a landscaping easement to not include trees in order to improve the visibility of the $64 million store. Ikea will instead plant shrubs there.

“This means we continue to be full steam ahead,” said Joseph Roth, public affairs manager for Ikea. “Things have been going so well we’re excited.”

Ikea plans to close on the purchase of the site this summer, break ground in the fall and open for business in 2016.

The staff report said Ikea has made a “suitable effort” to include landscape buffers and streetscape improvements as part of the project. The neighborhood association for the area, the Cordova Leadership Council, is in support of Ikea’s application, and OPD staff is recommending approval.

The Land Use Control Board approved Ikea’s requests, which had no opposition, unanimously and without discussion.

“I will be so glad my children don’t have to drive to Atlanta anymore,” board member Margaret Pritchard told Ikea representatives following the vote.

In January, the city-county Economic Development Growth Engine awarded Ikea an 11-year tax break for the project, which is expected to employ 175 people. The PILOT could save the company around $9.5 million over 11 years while producing a local tax benefit of around $15.6 million over the same period.

The Memphis store will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 room settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 300-seat restaurant that would serve Swedish specialties. Ikea has estimated that up a third of the store's visitors would come from outside the Memphis area.

Meanwhile, Gopal Govan won approval from the Land Use Control Board to build a LaQuinta Inn & Suites hotel at 310 Union Ave., located at Union and Danny Thomas Boulevard. Govan will raze the former New York Suit Exchange building and erect a four-story, 104-room LaQuinta there.

A portion of the building will hug the sidewalk on Union, and Govan agreed to create another entry to the building on Monroe Avenue. Govan still must acquire a special use permit for the hotel from the Memphis City Council.