IKEA nears construction of large Midwest DC

Furniture retailer IKEA has submitted its final plans to the City of Joliet, Ill. to proceed with building a distribution center there.    Furniture retailer IKEA has submitted its final plans to the City of Joliet, Ill., to proceed with building a distribution center there. 
   “City approval of these updated plans would pave the way for proceeding with a building permit application,” the company said on Thursday. Construction of the facility could begin as early as this fall, with completion expected by the summer of 2017.
   “We have known for some time now that Joliet was the perfect location for our distribution hub in the Midwest, so we are pleased our Midwestern presence has grown to the point where we need this terminal to be up and running in 2017,” said IKEA’s U.S. chief financial officer, Rob Olson, in a statement.  
   The planned 1.4-million-square-foot facility will be constructed on 72 acres at the Laraway Crossings Business Park in Joliet, 48 miles southwest of Chicago, and provide inventory to least 10 IKEA stores throughout the Midwest.  
   With more than 1,300 suppliers in 54 countries, IKEA globally transports products to its stores through regional distribution centers. This Midwest warehouse will join IKEA’s current U.S. distribution network comprised of two DCs on the West Coast and three on the East Coast. 
   The Joliet facility’s “central location will allow goods to be received at coastal ports from both Asia and Europe.” The facility will also have access to nearby railroad intermodal services, IKEA said.
   This project also represents IKEA’s fourth major investment in Illinois. Besides its future Joliet distribution center, there are two IKEA stores in the Chicago area, one in Bolingbrook and another in Schaumburg. And, last year, IKEA announced it was purchasing a 49-turbine wind farm in Hoopeston, Ill., that’s expected to be operational this spring.