Much like the assembling of the couches and tables sold at its stores, IKEA was looking for a location that would fit together seamlessly and easily.

It found one in Crocker Park in Westlake as the Swedish retailer announced July 28 that it will take over the former Dick’s Sporting Goods space, marking its first low-cost, ready-to-assemble furniture and home goods store location in the Cleveland area.

“Northeast Ohio is such a vibrant area,” Christiane Branderhorst, a local marketing specialist for IKEA, told the Cleveland Jewish News. “There are so many universities, and there’s a broad mix of people there, renters and young families, who are looking for an IKEA to come get all sorts of products. It just fits perfectly.”

In 2023, IKEA announced it was investing $2.2 billion in its operations in the United States to help grow its presence, opening new stores in untapped markets, and this move is a result of that initiative, according to Branderhorst.

IKEA zeroed in on Crocker Park after seeing how “vibrant” the mixed-use development is with commercial, business and residential spaces.

“Crocker Park is such a great area, so going into there is very exciting,” she said. “For us to come into there and add an IKEA into a store that already exists makes this really sustainable for us, and it’s something we look at when we’re going into a new area.”

IKEA has 61 stores across the United States. It was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad as a mail-order sales business that began reselling furniture in 1948. IKEA opened its first store in Älmhult, Småland, Sweden, in 1958. Its first U.S. location opened in 1985 in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and over 60 countries and territories around the world have a store.

The closest locations are currently in Columbus, Pittsburgh and West Chester, in between Cincinnati and Dayton.

IKEA is expected to open in the 80,000-square-foot space in spring 2027, according to a news release from Stark Enterprises, and the store will be the brand’s small-format concept, a compact version of its usually warehouse-sized shopping experience.

Representatives at Crocker Park, including Ezra Stark, CEO of Stark Enterprises, which owns and manages the development, and Lidia Richani, Crocker Park’s SVP of Commercial Leasing, had worked for about two years to get IKEA into the space, according to Stacie Schmidt, vice president of marketing and communications for Stark Enterprises.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods was at the end of their natural lease expiration, so we were aware prior to their departure and had been trying to curate the proper tenant,” Schmidt told the CJN. “We were trying to find the perfect marriage. It’s such a large space, so we cared about it being a marquee element at Crocker. We looked at many different opportunities and wanted it to be experiential, because Crocker Park is all about the experiences, that’s our tagline. We really felt after meeting with IKEA that we fit together.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods, an original tenant of Crocker Park when it opened in 2004, closed in April 2025 and moved to a new location in Avon. The currently empty store will be transformed into a space with room displays, showcasing how IKEA furniture pieces could be laid out in one’s home, a cafe with Swedish food and a marketplace with thousands of products, according to the release.

Richani had been in talks with IKEA for years and when the retailer announced it would be adding small-format stores, it jumped at the opportunity.

“We really think this IKEA is going to be such a cool addition not to just Crocker Park or the city of Westlake, but to Cleveland itself. It will be a draw, people make trips constantly from here to Pittsburgh and Columbus for IKEA. Now, they won’t have to go far away. And people will plan weekend trips based around it. Our hotels will see an energy surge, and our small businesses that are around will benefit.”

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough told the CJN the opening is “exciting news” for Northeast Ohio and the city.

“It’ll bring a lot more traffic to Crocker Park and solidify the other retailers, restaurants and businesses located there,” he said. “Crocker Park is one of the premier town centers in the country, and this pays tribute to that. We’re pleased to have it here in Westlake and are very pleased IKEA is coming and will bring their services and products to the area.”

According to Branderhorst, the smaller-format concept is everything that IKEA is in a more compact space.

“The real strength of our store is the store itself,” she said. “It’s bringing IKEA to the customer. We’re really excited that everybody is going to be able to go in there and see the over 5,000 products we’ll have in that store. Customers can go in and shop, they’re going to be able to take things home and can go online and order absolutely everything. Anything that is available in any IKEA is available to the customer, they just might have to set it up for free pickup at the store. We also have low-cost options to ship it to people.”

IKEA is well-known for its Swedish cafe, serving up Swedish meatballs, hot dogs and ice cream.

“We think this is going to be such a cool opportunity for people to be able to shop and dine,” Schmidt said. “We feel blessed. We know that Crocker Park is a gem, but sometimes our own market gets a little blinded by it and doesn’t realize how fortunate we are to have such a unique experience. This really affirmed to us what we were feeling and loving about Crocker Park.”