It has been quite a week for the City of Fishers. It’s hard to imagine how one Swedish furniture retailer can create such a stir, but that’s what has happened here.
All the Metro Indy media outlets looked at this story from every angle, including the Indianapolis Star and all the local TV news operations. Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal covered the angle of what happens next. Could it be one or more hotels? Perhaps more retailers with a national reputation but not now operating in Central Indiana could be headed to Fishers? Only time will tell, but Lindsey does a nice job in her piece of exploring those angles.
I asked Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness what development he sees popping up around the new IKEA location, and he gave a cautious answer, saying the city will study the best next development steps around the new IKEA store.
The mayor was asked about that subject again in an appearance on Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick.
“We want to be really sensitive in this area that we have a really unique development,” Fadness told the TV interviewer. “Yes, IKEA can attract additional retailers, we know that, we’ve seen that, but we want to be thoughtful about that as we grow Fishers in that particular area of our city.”
Fadness gave some insight into the competition for IKEA. He told Inside Indiana Business this was not the usual competition where Fishers was vying for the retailer among other cities or states.
“We worked with them, we put our story forward,” Fadness told Gerry Dick. “They went back to Sweden and literally had to make the argument why Central Indiana, Fishers Indiana, beats out Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, you name it. It was really an exciting process.”
In a commentary for Indiana Forefront, I make the point about traffic. Mayor Fadness insists IKEA will not impact morning and evening rush hour traffic cycles due to the nature of their retail business. Residents in the area are likely a bit nervous about IKEA and other developments likely to follow in that area. Traffic is already tough during the rush hours. The city has a challenge in convincing residents they can handle the additional traffic without gridlock, then must deliver on that promise.
IKEA has received millions of dollars in local government incentives to locate in many areas of the nation. However, in Fishers, the Swedish firm will only receive waivers of fees. That will cost the city more than a million dollars, but Fishers will not be shelling out millions in incentives, as we’ve seen in other American locations. It would appear IKEA really wants the Fishers location.
Here’s something else to think about. I am told by city officials that more big economic development announcements are in the pipeline for Fishers before the end of the year. Things could get even more interesting around here.
