IKEA Store

Size: 1,917 Tons

Duration: Underway

Location: Merriam, Kansas

Midwest Steel is taking part in the construction of the new, $1.9 million IKEA retail facility in America’s heartland, opening in the fall of 2014. The Kansas City-area project requires that the structural steel be erected on top of the existing precast concrete parking structure, helping frame the building’s shape to support roofing and siding elements to be installed later in the year. This project detail demands highly organized coordination and open communication between the concrete contractor and Midwest Steel to allow for access as the steel framing is erected and finished.

With more than 340 stores in 42 countries, including 38 in the U.S., IKEA is the world’s leading home furnishings retailer. Midwest Steel’s work on the initial phases of the 359,000 square-foot IKEA Merriam building brings an international icon to the 18.4-acre retail location. A geothermal system is built into the store’s heating and cooling system, ranking it as the largest energy efficient project of its kind in Kansas or Missouri.

The IKEA store will feature 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant. Midwest Steel and IKEA are partnering with Heartland Habitat for Humanity to recycle and salvage much of the existing building’s equipment, materials, and parts.