IKEA Dornbirn plan sets out 307 parking spaces and 180 jobs

IKEA’s planned Dornbirn store would open six days a week, employ 180 people and provide 307 parking spaces, according to operating plans published by ORF. The district authority will hold a hearing on the proposal on November 4.

The store, planned for the former Kika building on Josef-Ganahl-Straße, is still scheduled to open in autumn 2027. It would be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays and public holidays. On peak days, up to 1,000 customers and around 80 employees are expected to be on site at the same time.

The plans involve alterations within the existing building, including an extension to the underground car park and an addition around the entrance. The restaurant would move from the third floor to the second, while the removal of intermediate ceilings would create more storage space. A wooden outer covering is planned to shade the facade; the building’s height would not change.

The basement would contain the entrance hall, storage, deliveries, technical facilities and car park. The ground floor would include storage, offices and outdoor parking. Self-service areas, checkouts, a snack bar, customer service and workshops are planned for the first floor; the second floor would house the market hall, restaurant and kitchen, with the showroom on the third floor and technical facilities on the fourth.

The store’s sales area, including its restaurant and snack bar, would total 8,484 square metres. The application allows for up to 11,500 square metres of sales space. The site would have 164 outdoor parking spaces and 143 in the expanded underground car park, as well as 28 spaces for single-track vehicles.

Access would be exclusively via Oberer Gleggenweg, the municipal road between IKEA and Metro, according to the notice. There would be no connection to the underground car park planned for the new Messepark. The plans also provide for direct links to public transport and cycle routes.

The application allows for up to 14 truck deliveries a day, mainly between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., with two additional truck deliveries possible between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Restaurant supplies could involve up to two deliveries during the day, while an external company could make up to six daily trips with small delivery vehicles.

The hearing at the neighbouring Panoramahaus is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. It concerns changes to the already approved operating permit for the Kika furniture store, which IKEA says it has taken over in full. Objections can be submitted by the day before the hearing or raised during it; anyone who does not object will lose their status as a party to the proceedings.

The project is expected to cost 65 million euros. IKEA paid 27.6 million euros gross for the nearly 15,000-square-metre property, according to land registry records. Kika operated at the location for more than 30 years before closing at the end of January 2025; the building has since stood empty. IKEA has described reusing it as a sustainable and economically sensible solution.