Ingka Investments — the investments arm of Ingka Group, which owns the majority of Ikea stores worldwide — has invested in a new retail office tower being built on New York City’s iconic Fifth Avenue.
Located at the intersection of the Plaza and Grand Central Districts, 570 Fifth Avenue will be a 1,000,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial building and marks the largest development on Fifth Avenue in more than 60 years. Ingka Investments will hold a one-third stake in the project alongside preferred equity components and full ownership of the building’s prime retail space, an 80,000-square-foot store with a corner entrance on Fifth Avenue where Ingka plans to put an Ikea “customer meeting point.” The remaining two-thirds stake in the project is held by Extell Development Company, and the building is scheduled for tenant occupancy in 2028.
“Investing in Fifth Avenue goes beyond just growing our footprint; it’s about changing the way we engage with consumers and playing a part in creating strong, sustainable economies and business communities,” said Peter van der Poel, Managing Director of Ingka Investments in a statement.
The investment is part of Ingka Group’s ongoing strategy to adapt to urban growth and changing consumer shopping preferences with the introduction of new retail formats in city centers and innovations in the digital customer experience. Since 2019 Ingka Group has opened stores and shops in a number of major cities, including Tokyo, Madrid, Paris and London, with plans for additional locations in Vienna, Barcelona, Berlin and Prague.
Advertisement
“This next phase of our investment and expansion in the U.S. signals our commitment to bring IKEA closer to people in city centers,” said Javier Quiñones, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA U.S. in a statement. “While we are in the very early stages of planning for the Ikea location, we can promise to deliver an experience that is full of inspiration and designed to meet the home furnishing dreams of many New Yorkers.”
“We have been working on assembling this project for almost two decades and Ingka Investments’ substantial commitment allows us to move forward with the construction and leasing of the best new office building in New York,” said Gary Barnett, Founder and Chairman of Extell Development Company in a statement. “This will be the first office tower to begin construction in the city post-pandemic and it is a great sign of New York’s resilience.”
