An Ikea may be coming to Lower Manhattan.
The Scandinavian furniture giant appears to have purchased 529 Broadway in Soho for $219 million, according to property records. The seller was a joint group that included Wharton Properties, billionaire Jeff Sutton’s firm.
The building is a 58,000-square-foot, six-story commercial building at the corner of Broadway and Spring Street, according to BKSK, the building’s architect. The space is currently occupied by Nike.
Sutton’s firm bought the building for $146.9 million in 2013, according to property records.
Neither Sutton nor Ikea’s U.S. press office immediately responded to requests for comment.
It’s unclear if Ikea is planning to open a new retail location or if the furniture company has different designs for the building. The property is significantly smaller than the company’s already operating stores. Its Red Hook location, built in 2007, is more than 336,000 square feet. That location is zoned for big-box retail, while the Broadway location is zoned for more traditional retail, according to city property records.
But it also wouldn’t be Ikea’s first attempt to fit into a tight space.
In 2019, the company opened a “Planning Studio” at 999 Third Avenue, in a 17,000-square-foot space, Curbed reported. But that only lasted for three years. A 115,000-square-foot store in Rego Park, Queens, was similarly short-lived.
Ingka Group, which owns the majority of Ikea stores worldwide, last year unveiled an Ikea “customer meeting point” that would span 80,000 square feet across two cellar levels of 570 Fifth Avenue, between West 46th and 47th Streets. But the tower, developed by Extell Development Company, is not slated to open until 2026.
The company’s main North American office is in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The company, though founded in Sweden, now has its global headquarters in the Netherlands.
Ikea is holding a “housewarming” party elsewhere in Lower Manhattan Tuesday evening, promising interactive experiences and meatballs.
