The good news: IKEA is coming to Antioch.
The bad news: It’s not set to open until 2020.
“I’d like that to be the summer of 2019,” Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said in a press conference held Thursday morning at the Music City Center.
Barry joined officials from IKEA who announced plans for a 341,000-square-foot store on 36 acres in the 300-acre Century Farms mixed-use development in Antioch.
“This location would provide our already 140,000 Nashville-area customers their own store and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to others throughout Middle Tennessee,” IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson said in a press release.
The highly visible location south of Bell Road and west of Interstate 24 will be accessible from the Hickory Hollow Parkway exit and sits on the Turner family farm and Lee Beaman land.
Construction won’t begin until early 2019 after infrastructure has been completed, meaning the store and its 10,000 items won’t open until summer 2020, said Joseph Roth from IKEA.
Along with its furniture, IKEA Nashville will feature 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as its iconic meatballs, as well as American dishes.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices. The IKEA Group operates 340 IKEA stores in 28 countries, including 42 in the U.S, including one in Memphis.
“There’s an IKEA a little bit south of us, but now you don’t have to go there. You can go to the IKEA in Nashville,” Barry said, adding IKEA isn’t just a store, it’s another good employer for Antioch and Nashville.
Barry said the project will create 500 construction jobs, in addition to the 250 employees expected to staff the new store in areas from sales and customer service to human resources and accounting. All employees are eligible for benefits after working 20 hours a week.
In March, the company was named one of the 2017 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. IKEA U.S. has also been recognized by Glassdoor (October 2016) for Best Companies for Vacation and Paid Time Off; FORTUNE (December 2016) for 50 Best Companies to Work for Diversity and Inclusion; the Human Rights Campaign for 100 percent index, which measures an LGBTQ inclusive workplace, and others.
“Our vision to create a better everyday life for the many people, especially our co-workers, has not wavered or changed. It is our backbone and provides a clear framework, guiding us in everything we do,” Petersson said.
Barry said IKEA Nashville is just one example of increased investment in Antioch.
“This will revitalize and energize Antioch,” Barry said.
Century Farms will also house the new corporate offices for Community Health Systems in a six-story building that will hold around 2,000 employees.
It also includes $25.7 million to expand the Hickory Hollow Parkway exit for I-24 and a residential component.