Alec Pacella
Senior Vice President
NAI Daus
(216) 455-0925
[email protected]
One of the most interesting pieces of American folklore is the nation’s infatuation with Bigfoot. Although the idea of a creature that is half man and half ape dates back to the 1800s, most of us think of that famous 1967 footage showing a grainy ape-like creature somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Clevelanders have their own version of Bigfoot – it’s called IKEA. Rumors have swirled for nearly 30 years, with “sightings” ranging from North Olmsted to Beachwood. But before we talk about what could be, let’s first talk about what we know.
The Netherlands-based retailer offers a variety of household items. Although it is most noted for trendy, affordable and built-it-yourself furniture, it also carries kitchen items, bedding and office furniture, among other items. They operate over 400 stores worldwide, including 40 stores in the US. The facilities aren’t small, averaging around 300,000 square feet. Clevelanders infatuation with the chain dates to 1989, when IKEA opened a store in Pittsburgh. It was their 4th US location at the time but Clevelanders quickly took notice and within a few years,
shoppers from Northeast Ohio accounted for nearly 1/3 of the Pittsburgh store’s sales. So Cleveland was clearly an early target and for a while, it appeared that this would be the location of choice for the chain in the near future. But a funny thing happened – nothing. Sure, the chain was in advanced negotiations on a several sites over the last 25 years, most notably land owned by KeyBank on the south side of I-480 and Tiedeman, followed by land owned by the Plain Dealer on the north side of I-480 and Tiedeman. Similar to Bigfoot, there have been many other alleged sightings. But in the meantime, the retailer has instead surrounded the market. They have opened stores in Canton, Michigan in 2006, in Cincinnati in 2008 and in Columbus this past June. Cleveland still has no IKEA but that may be changing.
The latest sighting is further east on the I-480 corridor, at the intersection with Transportation Blvd. The specific site is at the northwest corner of this intersection, where the long-abandoned Bridgeview Crossings retail development was to occur. Although this site has a checkered past that includes a variety of litigation and liens, it also has a few attributes that are coveted by IKEA. First is size; the company needs a minimum site of 30 acres – the parcel is approximately 90 acres. Second is visibility; high-profile locations are a high priority – the parcel is clearly visible to the 180,000 vehicles that crisscross the region on I-480 every day. And third is access; IKEAs are always in immediate proximity to a primary intersection – access to the site will only be enhanced as a part of the $280 million bridge repair project which the Ohio Department of Transportation will begin this November.
Despite the countless reports over the years, no one really knows if Bigfoot actually exists but everyone knows that IKEA does. And it appears that one of those sightings may actually turn into a reality in the very near future.
About the Author
Alec Pacella is Senior Vice President at NAI Daus in Cleveland, OH, focused on the marketing and sale of institutional-quality real estate assets. Alec has received numerous professional accolades during his career. He is a three-time winner of NAIOP’s Investment Deal of the Year and he has completed the largest individual investment transactions in Cleveland five times since 2000. He was named to Crain’s ‘Forty Under 40’ in 2005 and he was recently appointed as an associate instructor for the CCIM institute.
About GRS Group
GRS Group is a leading provider of commercial real estate (“CRE”) services worldwide. With offices across the United States, Europe, and affiliates around the globe, GRS Group provides local market knowledge with global perspective for institutional real estate investors, occupiers and lenders worldwide. The GRS Group team has evaluated and advised on over $1 trillion in CRE transactions.
Through the company’s proprietary management process, Global Services Connection, GRS Group delivers an integrated suite of services including Financial Advisory, Transaction Management, Assessment and Title Insurance. We provide a single point of contact, capable of leveraging the GRS Group portfolio of companies, and delivering customized solutions to assist our clients in achieving their investment goals.