Las Vegas IKEA Getting A New Furniture ‘Megastore’ Neighbor
Locals who have been driving around the Durango curve near the Las Vegas IKEA have seen a huge concrete structure going up the last month. At first sight, it looks…
The Las Vegas IKEA sign stands next to what will become another furniture megastore at the Durango curve.
Wendy Rush via BMG Las VegasLocals who have been driving around the Durango curve near the Las Vegas IKEA have seen a huge concrete structure going up the last month. At first sight, it looks big enough to be a two or three-story gym. Maybe another LVAC? Maybe a climbing gym? Well, as exciting as it would be to have another place to hang from ropes or get our Zumba on, it's not a gym. It's actually another furniture store.
Las Vegas IKEA Neighbor Will Be Ashley Furniture "Megastore"
Ashley Furniture has owned that land on Sunset Road & Raphael Rivera Way since December 2020, according to reviewjournal.com. It was in May of 2021 that the Clark County Planning Commission approved the plans for the new store. Ashley was hoping to get some of the business from homeowners who were spending a lot more than usual on home furnishings after the pandemic. The plans that were originally made projected that the store would be opened by fall of 2022, reviewjournal.com reported.
And Ashley isn't the first company who has thought about turning the Las Vegas IKEA neighborhood into a larger furniture destination. Walker Furniture formally announced plans for a new store in that same location in 2017, reviewjournal.com reported. Ashley actually bought 14 of the 20 acres acquired for the new project from Walker, according to reviewjournal.com.
I've heard some locals say that it's silly for Ashley Furniture to open a store right next to IKEA. Especially since Ashley's prices don't compare to that of its Swedish neighbor. But, the Las Vegas IKEA gets a lot of traffic, and Ashley Furniture is just hoping to get some of that business. The southwest side of Las Vegas has been booming recently. Durango Resort recently opened across the 215 Beltway. "The Bend" project is in the works across from Sunset. And yet another housing development is being built across Roy Horn Way on Sunset.
The corner of Roy Horn and Sunset in Las Vegas shows another housing development in the works. Just another place the area around the Las Vegas IKEA is growing.
I think having another furniture store would actually be good for both businesses. They're two different demographics. IKEA is more modern and minimalistic while Ashley has more traditional styles. And I've never had to call the TaskRabbit guys to put together an Ashley sofa. So each store will definitely have its own clientele.
New Ashley "Megastore" Won't Be As Mega As The Las Vegas IKEA
The specific plans are for an Ashley HomeStore showroom as well as a distribution center. Which sounds oddly familiar for that area, minus a café serving Swedish meatballs. But the new store won't be as big as IKEA, which has a 350,000 square foot building, according to helixelectric.com. The new Ashley venue will only be 273,222 square feet, according to reviewjournal.com.
However, this will be the largest Ashley Furniture store in the company, homenewsnow.com reported. With a 100,000 square foot two-story showroom (again, where have I seen that before?). The showroom, according to homenewsnow.com, will be on the side of the building that faces the 215. And it will have the company's showroom, sleep concept area and clearance outlet. The large windows at the front of the store will give the new Ashley HomeStore an advantage over IKEA, who doesn't display their furniture to passers by on the 215.
This photo, taken between this construction project and IKEA, shows the large openings at what will be the front of the store. Those large windows will provide drivers on the 215 at the Durango curve a good look at what's inside.
Kurt Haines, president of West Coast retail for Ashley HomeStores, told homenewsnow.com that this will be the first time the company has combined all these parts of the business under one roof. And that "creating a 'one-stop shop and having product available for immediate pickup or immediate delivery —all within the same facility — is going to be a new concept'."
It's actually not a new concept. It's what the Las Vegas IKEA has been doing since it opened in 2016. It's just a new concept for Ashley Furniture. Now...if they only served meatballs.
