Ingka Centres is starting construction on the new IKEA to open at 945 Market Street in SoMa, San Francisco. The new location is part of the company’s move away from warehouse stores to urban-center retail with delivery. GreenbergFarrow will be the project’s architect and structural engineer.
IKEA sign up at 945 Market Street, image by the author
Ingka Centres purchased the property from Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners. City records show the property sold in September of 2020 for $198 million. Project applications for the proposed IKEA store were first filed in 2020, with activity as recent as December of 2021. Now, J.K. Dineen of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that construction has started on-site eighteen months after the property changed hands.
945 Market Street facade elevation, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The 104-foot tall 6×6 Mall was designed by Gensler Architects with structural engineering by KPFF. The structure contains 375,800 square feet across five floors and three basement levels. The IKEA will occupy 82,840 square feet, extending between the first basement level and floors one, two, and four.
945 Market Street floor plans, image by GreenbergFarrow
The move away from warehouse shops is a notable pivot for the Swedish retail giant. The San Francisco location will be nearly a quarter the size of the typical IKEA with around 350,000 square feet. To adjust for the downtown market, IKEA will use space-efficient strategies to keep the store viable for an urban carless consumer base. The first downtown IKEA location was opened in London’s Kings Mall, a proof of concept
IKEA sign, image courtesy IKEA
When first announced in 2020, Mayor London Breed shared that IKEA was discussing the location with the city since 2018. In a press release, she said that “the presence of this great retailer in the heart of our city will be transformative for our Mid-Market neighborhood, create more jobs, and offer a great new shopping experience for our residents. We greatly appreciate all the work that Ingka Centres and IKEA have put in with our office to help make this a reality, and we look forward to celebrating when they settle in their new home.”
945 Market Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
950 Market Street from Market, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The property is across from 950 Market Street, a new mixed-use project with condominiums and hotel rooms designed by Handel Architects for Group I.
An estimated date for completion has not yet been revealed. Building permits filed this month show the process will cost an estimated $5.5 million to finish.
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They should put up a vertical sign. Market St lost most of its flashy blade signs for BART construction and the street has lacked a certain something ever since.
IKEA at a convenient car free environment location
This just6 might work. Fingerts crossed.