IKEA may be coming to Merriam Village

[thegeester68]

Wouldn't the Bannister/Three Trails site work well for IKEA? They can build right up against the Interstate, lots of access, would be the economic spur to possibly push Cerner to accelerate their South campus plans as well as additional office/retail and restaurants to compliment IKEA.

[winB]

Wouldn't the Bannister/Three Trails site work well for IKEA? They can build right up against the Interstate, lots of access, would be the economic spur to possibly push Cerner to accelerate their South campus plans as well as additional office/retail and restaurants to compliment IKEA.

I thought about this as well but from the outside looking in, IKEA will view this location as one that has already failed when it come to retail. Same reason nobody else is touching it.

If St Louis is indeed in the works, I put MO's chances of getting the KC location at zero. IKEA's footprint in two new states was mentioned earlier and I think that is huge to them. You also have to factor in the proximity to Lawrence and JCCC. They alone account for 50k college kids that will be filling dorms and apartments.

[bobbyhawks]

I just heard Kevin Collison mention that, in his opinion, it will probably be 2 or 3 years before IKEA is in KC or considering KC. He brought up the fact that they aren't even in STL yet as a reason. He mentioned that he thinks there is slim chance that the Merriam Village location would be their ideal choice due to the size and destination aspects of IKEA.

[GRID]

IKEA would have zero problems going to the bannister site if it were part of a large redevelopment project. IKEA doesn't care about being near JoCo, why does everything in KC revolved around one suburban county? I will never get that. IKEA would pull from 500 plus miles around KC in some directions.

The SKC area of KC is now severely under served by retail. It will never be a regional mall again, but that area could easily support 400,000 - 600,000 sq ft of basic retail staples and it's sad that it's still vacant while tiffed shopping centers go up in greenfields all over the metro.

The bannister mall site is the absolute poster child for what is wrong with metro kc development. It's mind boggling that such a large and high profile site is now nothing but weeds and vacant structures and parking lots all just because the metro decided to label SKC the "ghetto" which it only became after the metro area turned it back on the area and gave it the image just because some cars were stolen and "thugs" from the city were shopping there via the buses!

Come on. The Bannister Mall site should be a super high priority of KCMO and MO politicians. A redevelopment there could stabilize a huge and very visible (and right now quite embarrassing) area of the metro and keep it from truly turning into a ghetto.

[kcmetro]

IKEA would pull from 500 plus miles around KC in some directions.

[GRID]

IKEA would pull from 500 plus miles around KC in some directions.

ok, so 500 miles is an exaggeration, but my point is that people WILL drive to KC from Des Moines, Omaha, Wichita, Tulsa, Springfield, Columbia, etc so I don't think it really matters where in the metro it's at. Closer to JoCo only means further from Liberty and Lee's Summit. Doesn't matter. Just depends on what sites are ready when they want to come to KC. IKEA's pull from huge areas and need a local market of 2-3 million (plus millions more in regional market). Being close to JoCo community college? What a joke. More like them wanting to be within a few hours of KU, MU, UMKC etc and reachable from places like Kstate, Springfield MO and smaller metros like Omaha yet be able to serve METRO kc with a visible freeway location somewhere and not really tied to affluent demographics (typical of IKEA, they are in very random locations).

[chingon]

IKEA would pull from 500 plus miles around KC in some directions.

ok, so 500 miles is an exaggeration, but my point is that people WILL drive to KC from Des Moines, Omaha, Wichita, Tulsa, Springfield, Columbia, etc so I don't think it really matters where in the metro it's at. Closer to JoCo only means further from Liberty and Lee's Summit. Doesn't matter. Just depends on what sites are ready when they want to come to KC. IKEA's pull from huge areas and need a local market of 2-3 million (plus millions more in regional market). Being close to JoCo community college? What a joke. More like them wanting to be within a few hours of KU, MU, UMKC etc and reachable from places like Kstate, Springfield MO and smaller metros like Omaha yet be able to serve METRO kc with a visible freeway location somewhere and not really tied to affluent demographics (typical of IKEA, they are in very random locations).

Yeah the only Ikea location I know personally is the Portland one, and it was built in a light industrial corridor and the nearest residential areas are pretty working class and suburban. Of course, its Portland, so they are also predominantly white (though I do think those far northeast Portland neighborhoods are getting pretty hispanic, by PNW standards).

[winB]

IKEA would pull from 500 plus miles around KC in some directions.

ok, so 500 miles is an exaggeration, but my point is that people WILL drive to KC from Des Moines, Omaha, Wichita, Tulsa, Springfield, Columbia, etc so I don't think it really matters where in the metro it's at. Closer to JoCo only means further from Liberty and Lee's Summit. Doesn't matter. Just depends on what sites are ready when they want to come to KC. IKEA's pull from huge areas and need a local market of 2-3 million (plus millions more in regional market). Being close to JoCo community college? What a joke. More like them wanting to be within a few hours of KU, MU, UMKC etc and reachable from places like Kstate, Springfield MO and smaller metros like Omaha yet be able to serve METRO kc with a visible freeway location somewhere and not really tied to affluent demographics (typical of IKEA, they are in very random locations).

You know that JCCC has 37,000 enrolled, right? It has a larger enrollment than any school you listed but it's a joke to mention it? If StL wasn't getting one, the Mo side of the state line would absolutely get it and I believe it would go up north. No argument at all. If StL does get one then it 100% goes to KS for a KC locale. Any market from Columbia on east will go to StL. That leaves Springfield as the major Missouri market outside of KC. Within the same distance, Kansas has Lawrence (90k + KU), Topeka (125k), and Wichita (500k metro).

I don't think that your 500 mile estimate is a joke. Right now there are delivery services that run between KC and the Minneapolis IKEA. A 500m radius would include the likes of Omaha, Tulsa, Des Moines etc. IKEA is a destination shopping experience and they will make sure they line themselves up with other destination locales. The same way that the Speedway, Schlitterbahn, Hollywood Casino, T-bones, and Nebraska Furniture Mart have done. I grew up in SKC and it kills me to see the Bannister complex become what it is but I just don't see someone like IKEA taking the gamble of revitalizing what has become a wasteland when they have a sure thing across the state line. Frisco, TX is a primary example of this rationale. IKEA planted it's store right next to the soccer and minor league baseball stadiums along with an outlet mall and a few furniture stores.

[GRID]

According to the KC business Journal book of Lists

JoCoCC has 21k students. (37k probably includes companies etc that take group courses there (KC Southern for example sends employees there)

The Metro Community colleges (on MO side) have 22k students.

But since when does IKEA put a lot of stock in freaking community colleges, which are commuter schools with mostly working adults etc and no student housing? Come on.

At least the MO side has more community college students PLUS actual colleges like UMKC, Park, Rockhurst, etc. One of the bigger colleges in the area that would bring a lot of shoppers to KC is also UCM in Warrensburg.

Again, my only point is that everything in KC doesn't revolve around Johnson County. The only reason IKEA would put a store there is because it's close to a lot of other places, not because they want to be near JoCo demographics.


And the village west area is a joke. Sorry, but it is. It's countryfied crap in the middle of nowhere. The Tbones shouldn't be drawing from more than a 5 mile radius, that casino out there is a joke, will they ever grow some trees at sclitterbaun (water park in the middle of a giant dirt patch?). The soccer stadium is sweet, but it's in a terrible location. There are so many better places that could have been built. We went to a game and I though the parking situation was worse than any sports venue I have been to. Gravel lots at the speedway, a mile away and across busy high speed streets? Yea, okay, no thanks, I don't drive an F150. We left the area for central KCMO to eat after the game because everything out there is stupid.

Why is 118th and and State Ave any better than 87th and 435? The area is rural, and the developed areas that are nearby are redneck and often more run down than anything in SKC.

KC needs to redevelop areas, rather than subsidize sprawl.

Way off topic haha. IKEA is would be fine in Merriam, but they are not going there to be near JOCOCC, I can tell you that much.

[mgsports]

DDR Corp.’s partially built but never occupied power center in Merriam, Kansas appears to have found a tenant to redevelop the entire property, but the identity of the tenant has not been disclosed. http://www.lane4group.com/wp-content/up ... rtland.pdf

[winB]

According to the KC business Journal book of Lists

Grid, allow me to clarify that I'm speaking mainly about the comparison between Meriam Village and the Banister Complex.

JoCoCC has 21k students. (37k probably includes companies etc that take group courses there (KC Southern for example sends employees there)

The Metro Community colleges (on MO side) have 22k students.

But since when does IKEA put a lot of stock in freaking community colleges, which are commuter schools with mostly working adults etc and no student housing? Come on.

I'll leave JCCC out of the debate since it appears we're at an impasse. My main point is the 21,000 students that are packing apartment complexes and other rentals all over the area.

At least the MO side has more community college students PLUS actual colleges like UMKC, Park, Rockhurst, etc. One of the bigger colleges in the area that would bring a lot of shoppers to KC is also UCM in Warrensburg.

You are correct about the other colleges but what you don't take into account is the colleges you named are better served by the MV location than Bannister. UMKC/Rock are right in between the two. The only difference is whether you drive down Prospect to get to Bannister or across the Plaza to get to MV. Park U is in fact located in Mo, yet closer to MV. As is Missouri Western, NW Missouri St, Washburn, and K-State. I didn't think of UCM though. That's a good mention.

Again, my only point is that everything in KC doesn't revolve around Johnson County. The only reason IKEA would put a store there is because it's close to a lot of other places, not because they want to be near JoCo demographics.

I don't look at this as a "border war" thing, just which location better serves the region. I live 3 blocks from MV and not quite sure I would even enjoy it being there. I live there though because of the convenient location. I'm 5 minutes from my job at KU Med (another source of a couple thousand students). It's 8 minutes from the Plaza, where my wife works. It's 2 minutes from whatever the hell they decide to do with Mission Gateway (another gripe). You don't have to cross downtown to get to the airport (another advantage over Bannister), and it's 12-15 minutes to Village West which I'll address separately.


And the village west area is a joke. Sorry, but it is. It's countryfied crap in the middle of nowhere. The Tbones shouldn't be drawing from more than a 5 mile radius, that casino out there is a joke, will they ever grow some trees at sclitterbaun (water park in the middle of a giant dirt patch?). The soccer stadium is sweet, but it's in a terrible location. There are so many better places that could have been built. We went to a game and I though the parking situation was worse than any sports venue I have been to. Gravel lots at the speedway, a mile away and across busy high speed streets? Yea, okay, no thanks, I don't drive an F150. We left the area for central KCMO to eat after the game because everything out there is stupid.

Why is 118th and and State Ave any better than 87th and 435? The area is rural, and the developed areas that are nearby are redneck and often more run down than anything in SKC.

To be honest, yes it is better but only because the development is there and thriving. I don't really disagree with your assessment of that area but the fact is that millions of visitors each year disagree with us and there's nowhere else in the region that compares. The fact is though that IKEA always sticks their stores near destination shopping districts...always. A store won't go to VW because I would think Neb Furniture has some kind of rights but I assure you that IKEA will not be very far away.

KC needs to redevelop areas, rather than subsidize sprawl.

No arguments here. Fortunately, MV would not be subsidizing sprawl. One could contend that its proximity to the Plaza, Westport, Crown Center would draw the outer suburbanites to spend more time and money in the urban core. To put it at Bannister would be nothing more than attempting to put a Village West type atmosphere in SKC. Keep in mind that Cerner was close to doing that with Sporting KC but opted otherwise.

I grew up in Belton and worked at Bannister and didn't shop or see a movie anywhere but the mall for 18 years. The sad fact is that Midtown is to the north and additional failed retail areas (Truman's Corners) are to the south. West of it is Kansas. So the only immediate metro area that would be best served by a Missouri location would be the Eastern suburbs, which are a long long ways away from the demographics that IKEA put so much stock into.

Way off topic haha. IKEA is would be fine in Merriam, but they are not going there to be near JOCOCC, I can tell you that much.

Thanks for the great talk and ideas regarding the topic though. I'm scurrying trying to get as much info as I can since it could seriously impact my neighborhood. I appreciate the input.

[chaglang]

FWIW, the Boston IKEA is in Stoughton. It's 21 miles (40+ minutes' drive) out of Boston and outside the 128 loop. There are no colleges nearby and it's not close to what I would consider IKEA's demographic. Nobody seems to care. Anywhere between Belton, Blue Springs, Bonner, and Platte City wouldn't surprise me.

[GRID]

According to the KC business Journal book of Lists

Grid, allow me to clarify that I'm speaking mainly about the comparison between Meriam Village and the Banister Complex.

JoCoCC has 21k students. (37k probably includes companies etc that take group courses there (KC Southern for example sends employees there)

The Metro Community colleges (on MO side) have 22k students.

But since when does IKEA put a lot of stock in freaking community colleges, which are commuter schools with mostly working adults etc and no student housing? Come on.

I'll leave JCCC out of the debate since it appears we're at an impasse. My main point is the 21,000 students that are packing apartment complexes and other rentals all over the area.

At least the MO side has more community college students PLUS actual colleges like UMKC, Park, Rockhurst, etc. One of the bigger colleges in the area that would bring a lot of shoppers to KC is also UCM in Warrensburg.

You are correct about the other colleges but what you don't take into account is the colleges you named are better served by the MV location than Bannister. UMKC/Rock are right in between the two. The only difference is whether you drive down Prospect to get to Bannister or across the Plaza to get to MV. Park U is in fact located in Mo, yet closer to MV. As is Missouri Western, NW Missouri St, Washburn, and K-State. I didn't think of UCM though. That's a good mention.

Again, my only point is that everything in KC doesn't revolve around Johnson County. The only reason IKEA would put a store there is because it's close to a lot of other places, not because they want to be near JoCo demographics.

I don't look at this as a "border war" thing, just which location better serves the region. I live 3 blocks from MV and not quite sure I would even enjoy it being there. I live there though because of the convenient location. I'm 5 minutes from my job at KU Med (another source of a couple thousand students). It's 8 minutes from the Plaza, where my wife works. It's 2 minutes from whatever the hell they decide to do with Mission Gateway (another gripe). You don't have to cross downtown to get to the airport (another advantage over Bannister), and it's 12-15 minutes to Village West which I'll address separately.


And the village west area is a joke. Sorry, but it is. It's countryfied crap in the middle of nowhere. The Tbones shouldn't be drawing from more than a 5 mile radius, that casino out there is a joke, will they ever grow some trees at sclitterbaun (water park in the middle of a giant dirt patch?). The soccer stadium is sweet, but it's in a terrible location. There are so many better places that could have been built. We went to a game and I though the parking situation was worse than any sports venue I have been to. Gravel lots at the speedway, a mile away and across busy high speed streets? Yea, okay, no thanks, I don't drive an F150. We left the area for central KCMO to eat after the game because everything out there is stupid.

Why is 118th and and State Ave any better than 87th and 435? The area is rural, and the developed areas that are nearby are redneck and often more run down than anything in SKC.

To be honest, yes it is better but only because the development is there and thriving. I don't really disagree with your assessment of that area but the fact is that millions of visitors each year disagree with us and there's nowhere else in the region that compares. The fact is though that IKEA always sticks their stores near destination shopping districts...always. A store won't go to VW because I would think Neb Furniture has some kind of rights but I assure you that IKEA will not be very far away.

KC needs to redevelop areas, rather than subsidize sprawl.

No arguments here. Fortunately, MV would not be subsidizing sprawl. One could contend that its proximity to the Plaza, Westport, Crown Center would draw the outer suburbanites to spend more time and money in the urban core. To put it at Bannister would be nothing more than attempting to put a Village West type atmosphere in SKC. Keep in mind that Cerner was close to doing that with Sporting KC but opted otherwise.

I grew up in Belton and worked at Bannister and didn't shop or see a movie anywhere but the mall for 18 years. The sad fact is that Midtown is to the north and additional failed retail areas (Truman's Corners) are to the south. West of it is Kansas. So the only immediate metro area that would be best served by a Missouri location would be the Eastern suburbs, which are a long long ways away from the demographics that IKEA put so much stock into.

Way off topic haha. IKEA is would be fine in Merriam, but they are not going there to be near JOCOCC, I can tell you that much.

Thanks for the great talk and ideas regarding the topic though. I'm scurrying trying to get as much info as I can since it could seriously impact my neighborhood. I appreciate the input.

I agree with everything you said, I think we are on the same page. IKEA might choose merriam, but not beause it's in Johnson County (which is what most people in JoCo will think), but because it's a nice central location for the region.

IKEA could go anywhere, they are very random in where they go. Sometimes they are right next to a college (like the one closest to me in College Park, MD). The other two near DC are next to malls (NoVA and Balt County) sometimes they are in the middle of nowhere like the one between Boston and Providence as chaglang mentioned. Sometimes they are in very upscale suburban developments like the one in San Diego. Philly has three, two in suburban areas and one in an industrial area of the city. I have been to many of them and I could see one in any number of locations in metro KC. I think what will drive the location of a KC store more than anything is if they plan to enter the St Louis market, which I think they will, so a KS side store makes sense to have a presence in that state. My only point was that it would have very little to do with JoCo or JoCo demographics. So I guess we agree

[KCMax]

I guess I don't really get the reasoning that if they put in a STL location, they won't put another one in MO, they'll put it on the KS side. Why is that?

[GRID]

I guess I don't really get the reasoning that if they put in a STL location, they won't put another one in MO, they'll put it on the KS side. Why is that?

Well, I don't think IKEA gives a rip if they have a store "representing Kansas" for the sake of just saying they have a store there. They think more in terms of regions. They will probably never have a store in Nebraska or Iowa or Arkansas so marking off states is not really the issue and they are more about markets. So the KC market is what they want.

I just think that if they go to StL, the store will probably be in the western suburbs so if they put a store in KC, then they might want to put it on the west side of the metro.

It would not surprise me in the least though if IKEA put a store next to Bass Pro in Independence or something. It really does not matter where it goes on the grand scale of things.

[winB]

I also don't think they're looking to check KS off their list. I just believe that it will go to either North Johnson County or North Kansas City. Anywhere in the metro is easily accessible to Kansas Citians but being a destination experience, IKEA typically looks to center things up for the region. Eastern MO and Southern KS suburbs would make Omaha, Des Moines, Lawrence, and Topeka travelers go that much further to get to them.

If a store doesn't go to StL, then the demographic shifts considerably. Then you'd be planning a location that would be easier for all of MO since you'd be pulling Columbia and of course Saint Louis. Then the KS side would travel further (and rightfully so).

Dark horses in the race would be St Joe or Liberty. Why not? IKEA has shown that they'll plant themselves firmly outside of a metro.

[flyingember]

I also don't think they're looking to check KS off their list. I just believe that it will go to either North Johnson County or North Kansas City. Anywhere in the metro is easily accessible to Kansas Citians but being a destination experience, IKEA typically looks to center things up for the region. Eastern MO and Southern KS suburbs would make Omaha, Des Moines, Lawrence, and Topeka travelers go that much further to get to them.

If a store doesn't go to StL, then the demographic shifts considerably. Then you'd be planning a location that would be easier for all of MO since you'd be pulling Columbia and of course Saint Louis. Then the KS side would travel further (and rightfully so).

Dark horses in the race would be St Joe or Liberty. Why not? IKEA has shown that they'll plant themselves firmly outside of a metro.

Liberty. Keep in Mind that St. Joe is smaller than Lee's Summit and further away from the entire city.

[aknowledgeableperson]

It looks like IKEA doesn't have a preference of where it goes. Much like NFM people will flock to the location no matter where it is. What appears to be the determining factor in location selection could be financial - where the best deal is.

[chaglang]

The Bring IKEA to KC Facebook page is attempting to verify a rumor that Merriam residents have received letters stating that IKEA is coming within 2 years. Sounds false to me.

[mgsports]

Jack in the Box and Quick Trip are know opening.

The Star would annonce it to. It needs to come so does Mejia,BJ'S Wearhouse,Albertsons,Winn Dixie,Taco Mayo,Shorty Smalls,Billy Sims,Ron John Surf Shop,QVC Store,Rasin Caines,Whataburger,In and Out,Carl Jr's. and so on.