IKEA Is Coming to Crocker Park

This article was published through an exclusive content-sharing agreement with neo-trans.blog.

In 2018, IKEA walked away from Cleveland after the search for a buildable site fell through. Nearly a decade later, the Swedish home and furniture supplier will return with a brand-new concept for Northeast Ohio.

Opening in Spring 2027, Clevelanders will no longer have to make the two-hour journey to Columbus, Pittsburgh or Detroit for access to IKEA’s inventory of thousands of household goods.

Instead, a new generation of stores with a smaller footprint will make its debut at Crocker Park in suburban Westlake, said officials at the global retailer today.

“Westlake represents an exciting opportunity to connect with more people in Northern Ohio and help them create homes that reflect their needs, style and budget,” said Rob Olson, chief operating officer of IKEA U.S., in a written statement.

The new IKEA will locate in a to-be-expanded, former Dick’s Sporting Goods store at 300 Crocker Park Blvd., said officials at Stark Enterprises, a real estate firm based in Downtown Cleveland and which owns Crocker Park.

“We had a very short list of ‘best-in-class’ retailers we believed could truly transform this key anchor location, and IKEA was our number-one choice,” said Lidia Saluan Richani, executive vice president of leasing for Stark Enterprises.

“We are thrilled to welcome one of the world’s most recognized home furnishing brands to Crocker Park,” she continued. “This is about more than activating a premier retail space. It’s about creating a destination that will attract visitors from across the region, enhance our retail mix, and reinforce Crocker Park’s position as one of the nation’s leading mixed-use lifestyle centers.”

The 50,000-square-foot store was vacated last year when Dick’s Sporting Goods moved to a new location at Avon Commons. IKEA will retrofit the entire building to meet the needs of its showroom footprint and warehouse-style selection, increasing its square footage to 80,000.

Renovation crews have already begun working on the store this week, removing the sporting medallions from the building’s exterior, Stark’s Vice President of Marketing Stacie Schmidt told NEOtrans this morning.

That work was the first indication that something major was up. So were the teasing posts on social media in the past week by Ezra Stark, CEO of Stark Enterprises.

“Bringing IKEA to Crocker Park has been years in the making,” Stark said. “This announcement reflects years of strategic planning, strong partnerships, and our commitment to continually elevating Crocker Park with brands people truly want to experience.”

“IKEA isn’t simply another retailer — it’s a destination that will draw visitors from across the Midwest, strengthen our regional economy, and further establish Crocker Park as one of the nation’s premier mixed-use destinations,” he added.

The store will be IKEA’s third location in Ohio, following stores in Greater Cincinnati and Greater Columbus. Customers will have access to more than 3,250 products and 250 furniture items in-store for immediate takeaway.

Over 5,400 products can be purchased online and picked up at the store. Other features of IKEA Cleveland will include an As-Is section of discontinued and returned products on sale.

A food court with a menu similar to traditional stores will serve a selection of IKEA favorites, including meatballs, plant balls, falafel balls, hot dogs, veggie dogs, cinnamon buns and other snacks and meals available to enjoy on-site or take home.

And a section dedicated to working with planning specialists will afford customers a personalized experience to design spaces and order larger furniture not sold in-store. IKEA Family members can take advantage of the rewards program for discounts and special pricing on delivery.

“As we continue growing our presence across the U.S., we’re focused on meeting customers where they are and creating more convenient ways to shop with IKEA,” Olson added.

The typical IKEA store ranges in size from 200,000 to 500,000 square feet and is often located in a prominent location, sometimes visible from a major highway.

It’s one reason why the large Plain Dealer site on Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn was initially considered for a Cleveland-area store. It’s also a key reason why Crocker Park was ultimately chosen — due to its proximity to Interstate 90.

However, the need to construct a new building of that scale has become increasingly impractical in the age of online shopping and delivery.

As a result, IKEA’s new global strategy is to open stores roughly a quarter of the traditional size — around 50,000 to 100,000 square feet. And in expected IKEA fashion, they’re doing so in an economical way.

Take, for example, a recently announced small format store in Buffalo, New York, a metropolitan area smaller than Greater Cleveland. Set to open in early 2027, that store will renovate roughly 65,000 square feet of space that was formerly a Sears department store at the Walden Galleria Mall.

While Greater Cleveland’s new store will be slightly larger than Buffalo’s, both will feature the same programming as a typical IKEA store, just in a slightly condensed format. Greater Cleveland is currently the largest metropolitan area in the United States without an IKEA.

Furniture and home goods retailer IKEA announced in March it will add 20 small-format stores at compact retail locations ranging in size from 35,000 to 75,000 square feet. They differ from the retailer’s traditional, massive warehouses by bringing the brand closer to dense city and suburban centers.

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