IKEA is opening its new store today in San Francisco. The famous Swedish store is launching its third Bay Area location, two decades after its East Palo Alto location, with a new approach for urban shoppers. The city model integrates delivery services for larger products, a deli, and future plans for the Hej!Workshop.
The furniture and home goods store, best recognized for its ready-to-assemble furniture, is scheduled to open its doors at 945 Market Street to the public today, August 23rd, at 11 AM. The IKEA main entrance is located on Market Street nearer 5th Street, left of the shopping mall’s central atrium.
Staged apartment model, image by Brandon Lavoie courtesy IKEA
Interior views of the new IKEA store in San Francisco, image by Brandon Lavoie courtesy IKEA
Pedestrians passing the new IKEA storefront, image by author
Ingka Centre purchased 945 Market Street, formerly known as the 6×6 Mall, in 2020 for $198 million. With IKEA as the anchor tenant, the six-story mall has been rebranded as Livat, a Swedish term for ‘bustling happening.’
In a public press release, IKEA San Francisco’s Market Manager, Arda Akalin, said, “we are so excited to open the doors of our new IKEA store to our neighbors in the San Francisco area. We appreciate the excitement and support from the community and can’t wait for our customers to experience the new store full of affordable home furnishings and solutions that reflect who San Franciscans are and how they live.”
Swedish Deli, image by Brandon Lavoie courtesy IKEA
Swedish Food Market, image by Brandon Lavoie courtesy IKEA
The three-story retail space will span 85,000 square feet, with 52,000 square feet for the 27 fully furnished rooms showcasing furniture and storage design solutions for apartment living. Starting in 2024, IKEA is set to open the IKEA food hall, visit the multipurpose room, and sign up for the co-working space, Hej!Workshop, which is expected to open in 2024. The co-working firm has launched its first location in Stockholm. More locations are expected to open in the coming years.
Most items can be purchased in-store, but for larger items like couches and bookshelves, IKEA will offer home deliveries. The service is a partnership with TaskRabbit and Lugg, to provide same or next-day delivery. Returning customers will be able to use the IKEA Buy Back & Resell service. To provide an affordable and sustainable option, IKEA will take their used products in exchange for store credits and resale as-is.
The six-story structure at 945 Market Street was completed by Cypress Equities in 2016 but has sat vacant until now. Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners purchased the building in the summer of 2019 before selling it to Ingka Group the next year.
Second-hand furniture center, image by Brandon Lavoie courtesy IKEA
IKEA signage along Livat Mall’s facade, image by author
The 104-foot tall 6×6 Mall was designed by Gensler with structural engineering by KPFF. The structure contains 375,800 square feet across five floors and three basement levels. Across the street is 950 Market Street, a new mixed-use project with condominiums and hotel rooms designed by Handel Architects for L37 Partners.
The Powell Street BART & Muni Station is less than a block away.
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Lord, help this street. I can’t tolerate the stench of piss and feces on this block anymore.
More will pick up when the escalators underground are finished and maybe when some towers start breaking ground near the Civic Center, but visitors and business owners are waning. And I don’t blame them either. With the reputation of what SF used to be, I tell first-time visitors to avoid Market St.
During the AIA conference, I was around the area and tried tolerating some chunks of the street, but it was not easy. It’s embarrassing the wealth tech has created for the region while simultaneously looking like a street in a developing nation.
buyers remorse predictions? lets hope not! come SF leaders clean that filth up and defuns the non profit industrial complex!