City officials, store representatives break ground on new Live Oak Ikea store

Store to open by spring 2019

LIVE OAK, Texas – The instructions to the company’s products can be somewhat tricky, but fans of Swedish furniture giant Ikea are growing excited as the international chain comes to the greater San Antonio area.

Live Oak officials and store representatives broke ground on the new location Wednesday morning at the southwest corner of Interstate 35 and Loop 1604.

Ikea didn't have any of its famous meatballs on hand at the news conference, but you couldn't miss its iconic Swedish assemble-it-yourself furniture as representatives broke ground on the future home of a 289,000-square-foot store.

The company says it expects to create 500 construction jobs and 250 in-store jobs at what will be the southernmost store in the country.

"This will be, when the doors open, the most significant economic impact the region will ever see," said Scott Wayman, Live Oak city manager.

Live Oak Mayor Mary M. Dennis said the expected several million visitors to the location the first year alone will help cities in northeast Bexar County, from Marion to Cibolo.

"I think that it's going to be great, again, for the region, great for San Antonio, great for our visitors coming in from Mexico and from the south here in Texas," Dennis said.

Currently, customers in the Greater San Antonio area have to drive to either Round Rock or Houston to shop at Ikea. The company said it's at least 180,000 shoppers.

"Instead of having to drive an hour or more to get to a store, it was very important that we brought a store to the San Antonio area. This is a large area, great growing population," said Latisha Bracy, public affairs manager of Ikea.

The store is expected to open in spring 2019. Over the next year, the iconic blue walls will go up on the strategically chosen 31 acres.

"We prioritize locations that are highly visible and easily accessible to all major highways, and that's exactly what we found," said Charles Coker, U.S. real estate and development manager of Ikea.