STOUGHTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today completed the expansion of its Boston-area store in Stoughton, MA. As a result, IKEA Stoughton, which opened November 2005 as 357,000 square feet in size, now has grown 58,575 SF to the new size of 415,575 SF, allowing the store to house larger quantities and selections of home furnishings, and to handle greater volumes of home deliveries. Construction work began in September 2013, and the store remained open and operational – with the full product assortment – throughout the build-up process.

“IKEA is thrilled with the success of IKEA Stoughton since its opening nearly ten years ago,” said Anton van Dongen, store manager. “This expansion will help us improve the shopping experience, and more easily meet the needs of customers throughout Northern New England.”

In total, the project included expanding the Self-Serve Furniture Area (where shoppers collect flat-packed furniture to take home on the same day), rearranging customer service functions to the newly built part of the store and enlarging the home delivery area. This extension blends into the existing structure, maintaining the store’s unique architectural design for which IKEA is known worldwide.

“IKEA Stoughton coworkers are enthusiastic about the opportunity to present our expanded store,” explained van Dongen. “We also appreciate the flexibility of our customers, who demonstrated loyalty and patience during this expansion work.”

With a now larger roof, IKEA also is increasing the size of the solar array installed atop the building more than one year ago. The 51,516-square-foot solar addition – to be completed this fall – will consist of a 312-kW system, built with 1,248 panels, and will produce 383,200 kWh more of electricity annually for the store. Including the existing system, IKEA Stoughton’s total 902.8-kW solar installation of 5,468 panels will generate 1,078,200 kWh of clean electricity yearly, the equivalent of reducing 761 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), eliminating the emissions of 158 cars or powering 105 homes (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html).

Located on 27 acres along Route 24 near Central Street (Exit 19B), the 357,000-SF IKEA Stoughton opened in November 2005 and employs approximately 400 coworkers. In addition to 10,000 exclusively designed items, IKEA Stoughton presents 47 different room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. IKEA Stoughton was awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and hosts a green roof atop the store adjacent to the current solar panel array.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There currently are more than 350 IKEA stores in 44 countries, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @DesignByIKEA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Pinterest.