Baer’s Furniture expects to open its first Jacksonville store in 2020, reports FurnitureToday.com.
The city approved a permit Dec. 2 for RLH Construction LLC of Oviedo to build the two-story, 84,242-square-foot store at a cost of $7.6 million at 7760 Gate Parkway.
That’s across Gate Parkway from Ikea.
Baer’s Furniture is a family-owned company based in Pompano Beach. The company has not responded to a request for comment, but FurnitureToday said President and CEO Jerry Baer expects to open the location later in 2020.
FurnitureToday described Baer’s as a high-end retailer with 16 stores in Florida, mostly in southern Florida. Its northernmost location is Orlando.
It said Baer’s ranked No. 43 on FurnitureToday’s 2019 Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores list with 2018 sales of $191 million, up 7.2% from 2017.
Baer’s Furniture will develop the Jacksonville store on 1.95 acres it owns 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 describes itself as “Florida’s premium furniture and mattress store.” FurnitureToday said its existing locations average about 50,000 square feet.
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.
Furniture stores are moving into the St. Johns Town Center area, whose competitive trade area stretches south along Gate Parkway.
In addition to Ikea, area furniture stores include La-Z-Boy Furniture, Ashley Furniture, Ethan Allen and Arhaus. RH, formerly called Restoration Hardware, is in review for construction of a store at St. Johns Town Center.