'Odds Don't Look Good' For Somerville IKEA, Says Boston Biz Journal
An IKEA spokesperson said the Stoughton store "removed the urgency that may have existed in the mid 2000s" to open in Somerville, according to a Boston Business Journal Report on CBS Boston.
Perhaps the writing's been on the wall for a while when it comes to the long-awaited Somerville IKEA, but according to a report from CBS Boston and the Boston Business Journal, "The odds don't look good for a Somerville store."
Read and watch the report here.
The TV affiliate and newspaper note that IKEA still hasn't made a decision about whether or not to open in Somerville, but that lack of a decision may indicate the project is dead.
It points out that IKEA opened just one store in the United States last year, and it opened none in 2010.
IKEA, the Swedish flat-pack furniture giant, has been eyeing Somerville as a possible site for a store since the mid 1990s, and it owns land in Assembly Square, but over the years a land-swap deal with Federal Realty Investment Trust, developer of Assembly Row, a lawsuit involving residents and then the downturn in the economy have prevented the store from getting built.
Meanwhile, IKEA opened a store in Stoughton in 2005, and a spokesperson for IKEA told the Boston Business Journal, "We already have a store in Stoughton, Mass., and that removed the urgency that may have existed in the mid 2000s."
The CBS Boston/Boston Business Journal report also quotes Somerville Alderman William White as saying, "I am operating under the assumption they will not build it ... I can’t imagine a last-minute scenario that would green light the project given the state of the economy."
Taxes and land value in Assembly Square
While IKEA has been sitting on the sidelines, it's also been paying some of the most corporate taxes in the city, and it recently made the list of the city's top-ten taxpayers. In fiscal year 2012, it's land was assessed at $18,301,200 and it paid $399,881 in taxes.
Speaking on a Mayor's Report show on the city's cable station in March, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said about IKEA, "We want them here. If they come, that would be great. If they don't, well, we'll move forward."
He said, "We've created a lot of value in Assembly Square … we've created value for every land owner there, and we're absolutely positive and firm that, if it's not IKEA, we'll be able to develop that ten acres and be very successful at doing it."
More on IKEA in Somerville
Somerville's Top Ten Taxpayers
City Still Waiting on IKEA to Make Decision, says Mayor
IKEA Still Undecided About Somerville Store
IKEA Granted One-Year Extension on Permits for Assembly Square Store
Cynthia
1:55 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
So disappointing. I do so hope the complaining neighbors like the replacement.
Donal Waide
10:44 am on Monday, May 14, 2012
I don't think this is dead. If you look at the IKEA model, it's aimed at low cost furnishings, and even some people would add the word temporary. In the North East we have a lot of people demanding that type of product, AKA students. A recent survey of Somerville stated we were a city of renters and I am sure IKEA sees this also. However, Stoughton is a huge deterrent to Somerville as IKEA would see an overlap of customers. This is probably why they opened in Denver last year and not here. Being a privatly held firm their approach is more conservative and I really think that all is not lost. Get used to waiting for it. After all, we waited for the Big Dig, Green Line Extension, etc.
Cynthia
1:47 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Perhaps YOU waited for the Big Dig, I hoped it would go away.
I AM still waiting for the Green Line Extension. At my age waiting another decade for IKEA may prove moot.
mplo
9:41 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
Having an IKEA Store her on Somerville, especially in Assembly Square would compound an already-horrific existing traffic problem along I-93. Every city here in the United States, including Stoughton, where there is an IKEA Store has horrible vehicular traffic as a result. I say we don't need it. There are other things more important, such as the correct placing of the Green Line Extension, and the McGrath Highway overpass, which needs to come down...now!