Could Rochester get an Ikea? Store scouting Henrietta sites

Rochesterians, cross your fingers, pray, carry every lucky charm you can think of —Swedish furniture giant Ikea is considering locations in the Henrietta area, according to three sources in a position to know.

While some simply said the company is interested in Henrietta in general, the interest appears to include several Henrietta parcels, including Marketplace Mall and the Getinge Group site on East Henrietta Road — each named by several sources as sites under consideration.

Robert Moore, president of Moore Corporate Real Estate, has been involved with selling the Getinge property, which includes occupied office space and vacant manufacturing space, for several years.

"I am aware of the rumor that Ikea is looking at prospective sites in Henrietta," he said, adding that he heard this information in the real estate field. He has fielded dozen of inquiries on the Getinge property, but not one from Ikea, he said, and he is unaware of any specific properties the company might be considering.

The chain offers unique furniture and home items at a low price, ideal for students — and there are about 85,000 of those in the greater Rochester area — and it serves up its famous Swedish meatballs in store cafeterias.

Dennis Wilmot of Wilmorite, the local development firm that owns and manages Marketplace Mall, plus other malls and shopping plazas in the area, declined to comment on Ikea’s potential interest in the area, saying he “can’t comment on something I have no specific knowledge on.”

“At Ikea, we are always looking at new opportunities for expansion and growth,” said company spokesperson Latisha Bracy via email. But Ikea has not announced any formal plans for a store in the Rochester area, she added.

The sprawling stores often act as destinations, luring people in with large brand signs visible from the main highways. Based on a group of new stores opening around the U.S. in 2017 and beyond, the company appears to open locations on the outskirts of major cities, or between two major cities. New and planned stores in Grand Prairie, Texas, between Fort Worth and Dallas, and just outside Norfolk, Virginia, are examples of this potential strategy.

Ikea officials have mentioned in new store announcements that the company is in the midst of expanding its U.S. footprint. Three stores opened or are planned to open in the U.S. this fall alone, in Florida, Texas and Indiana. Announced plans for the coming years include stores in Arizona, and additional locations in Tennessee and Texas.

More: 8 things to know about Ikea Fishers' spectacular grand opening

It’s useful to note that even when the company nails down a site and announces a planned store, there’s a lag time of several years before the store opens — many of the recently announced stores won’t be open until 2019 or 2020.

The newly opened or planned stores tend to sit on between 20 and 35 acres of property, with building footprints of approximately 300,000 square feet. For reference, the Getinge site is about 35 acres. The company announced in 2015 that it would shut down its production facility there, which made sterilizer machines for surgical equipment.

Each newly opened location is expected to bring about 250 jobs to the area, not including construction jobs, according to Ikea releases. In certain locations, the allure of jobs at a new Ikea can create problems in other corners of the minimum wage and part-time markets, such as in the Hamilton Southeastern School District near Fishers, Indiana.

New York’s only two Ikeas exist in the New York City area — in Brooklyn and on Long Island. There are 46 stores around the country, with the Grand Prairie store opening next week. There are over 400 stores worldwide, according to the company’s website.

So could Rochester have what it takes to actually reel in Ikea? Potentially, said Kent Gardner, chief economist at the Center for Governmental Research.

“The New York State Thruway is New York state’s Main Street,” he said. “Any store wants to be on Main Street. And Henrietta certainly is. There’s a lot of marvelous sites with easy access to the Thruway. Putting it in Henrietta near the Thruway exit — it would be mobbed from day one.”

The store would come up against other big box retailers that sell furniture or home items in the area, like Walmart and Costco Wholesale, said Gardner, but it’ll hit a niche market that he feels is underserved in the area currently.

“The reputation of Ikea isn’t just that the furniture is cheap, but that it’s interesting,” he said, adding that the overall brand has set itself apart as uniquely recognizable. “They’re very distinct in the real estate market,” he said.

Rochester’s closest Ikea location — still about 100 miles away — is in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, where Ikea opened an outlet store model in Fairview Mall last year.

The store is less showroom, more storage, to account for the massive online marketplace Ikea operates. Customers can look at about 100 items in the showroom onsite, while others can order online and pick up their wares at the St. Catharines warehouse for a fee, according to reporting done by area media outlet the St. Catharines Standard.

Ikea has long been on the local radar, with brokers seeing the market as a logical fit given its location between Buffalo and Syracuse, said Andrew Dollinger, who specializes in retail properties with CBRE|Rochester. The retailer has a practice of not locating stores within 100 miles of one another, he said.

“We always felt that it made some sense for them to come here,” he said, adding that he has no specific knowledge of any Ikea consideration of the area.

It tends to seek more upscale retail areas, and presumably would look to capitalize on proximity to the Thruway. Exit 45 or 46, he said, pointing to Henrietta or Victor — “It’s going to be one of those two,” he said.

STADDEO@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by Steve Orr, Brian Sharp and Meaghan M. McDermott.