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Old Posted Aug 9, 2005, 2:03 AM
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IKEA: City holds hope, but it's fading
By BRAD ROLLINS - Staff Reporter
Posted: Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 12:13:25 pm CDT




City leaders still hold out a inkling of hope that IKEA could choose San Marcos as its Central Texas home, but important indicators seem to suggest that the Swedish furniture giant has passed on the city.

For months, officials have courted the company with the argument that building its 260,000 to 350,000 square foot superstore here would put it within easy driving distance of both the Austin and San Antonio markets. Site selectors scouted available land along IH-35 and officials met with executives on more than one occasion.

But Mayor Susan Narvaiz, who says she last spoke to someone from IKEA in June, thinks the company has made it clear that it's likely to build in Round Rock and San Antonio.

"They continued talking to us because we were creative and offered them a way to think outside the box and consider us," the mayor said. "In the end, they kept going back to what their norm is. Their own formula seems to be an equation that we don't really fit."



IKEA typically builds within 45 minutes driving time of 1.5 million people. The Austin area's population is about 1.2 million; San Antonio's is about 1.6 million.

Narvaiz emphasized that the city hasn't received official notification nor has the company announced another location.

"They haven't made a final decision and I can't say for sure that they couldn't come back later and restart negotiations," she said.

A spokesman for the company said on Friday that IKEA hasn't decided for sure that its coming to the area at all. He wouldn't say if San Marcos is still being considered.

"We still haven't committed to the market itself let alone to a specific location. But we do have very specific site criteria and some locations might not necessarily fit into it," said Joseph Roth, the spokesperson.

Asked if he meant San Marcos, Roth said, "Until we actually commit to market and specific location, in theory, no one is actually ruled out because we haven't ruled anyone in. Obviously, there are some sites that appear more desirable or appropriate."

The company, which is adding five stores a year in an aggressive U.S. expansion, seeks lots of about 20 acres on major highways in metropolitan areas of at least two million people. The spokesperson said the company locates new stores within a 45 minute drive of its target market.

Since its start in a rural Swedish farming community in 1943, the company has carved an international niche as a low-frills outlet for affordable furniture and home products of distinctive design. The company is also credited with a culture that emphasizes frugality reflected, for instance, in their trademark practice of selling everything to-be-assembled.
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