Florida-based Baer’s Furniture intends to build its first Jacksonville store in South Jacksonville near Ikea.
The city approved a permit Tuesday for RLH Construction LLC of Oviedo to build the store at a cost of $7.6 million.
Baer’s Furniture, based in Pompano Beach, will develop the two-story, 84,242-square-foot store on 1.95 acres it owns at 7760 Gate Parkway.
The site is at northwest Gate Parkway and Point Meadows Drive, across from Ikea.
Baer’s Furniture Co. paid $3.3 million for 4.12 acres in October 2018. The deed shows it bought the land from the Skinner family.
Baer’s, with 16 locations statewide, describes itself as “Florida’s premium furniture and mattress store.”
It operates primarily in the Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Naples and Miami areas.
Baer’s sells furnishings for living room, dining, bedroom, home office and entertainment spaces.
Brands include Natuzzi Editions, Tommy Bahama Home and Outdoor Living, Bernhardt, Thomasville. Hooker Furniture, Broyhill and Lexington.
The company has been family owned and operated since 1945 when it was founded in South Bend, Indiana. A son of the founders moved to Florida in 1968 and opened a store in Dania. The family and company followed.
Baer’s joins a busy area for furniture sales, from Ikea’s price-friendly self-assembly offerings to La-Z-Boy Furniture, Ashley Furniture, Ethan Allen and Arhaus, among other retailers, at St. Johns Town Center or nearby.
Also, RH, formerly called Restoration Hardware, is in review for construction of a store at St. Johns Town Center.
Baer’s joins a new shopping area called Gate Point Meadows, where a self-storage center and a Wawa gas station and convenience store also are planned.
Tampa-based Brightwork Real Estate is the developer of the 13.3-acre Gate Point Meadows, which is designed for five parcels.