IKEA breaks ground on Kansas City-area store

IKEA broke ground Tuesday morning on its first store in the Midwest.

The popular Swedish furniture maker held a groundbreaking for a store just outside of Kansas City. The 359,000 square-foot store will be built in Merriam, Kan. off of I-35, eight miles southwest of Kansas City.

The store is set to open in fall 2014.

“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many Kansas City-area customers who currently can only shop at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said IKEA U.S. president Mike Ward. “The store also will attract new customers from Kansas, Missouri and beyond who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had the chance to shop at an IKEA store.”

As of now, the closest stores to Mid-Missouri are in Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Dallas.