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One store could be a game changer for Fishers.
After a decade scouting the area, Ikea announced Nov. 10 that it would open a 300,000-square-foot store near Interstate 69 and 116th Street in fall 2017. It will be the first in Indiana.
The news sparked speculation about what could be next. Hotels, restaurants, retailers and even tech companies have followed Ikea stores into other communities.
In Fishers, hundreds of acres of undeveloped land surround the 35-acre site the popular Swedish home furnishing company selected - land now ripe for new projects.
"We know as the rumors started percolating that brokers and other retailers were waiting to make decisions until after we did," Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said.
The store won't open its doors for two years, so the ripple effect might not start immediately, but industry leaders say the conversations have started. And one development official said announcements could come in as little as six months.
Ikea will be in Exit Five Corporate Park, which is owned by Fishers-based Sunbeam Development Corp. Originally, Sunbeam reserved the land for corporate headquarters - and a couple have located there. But Ikea was a "fantastic fit," according to Sunbeam Director of Development Chad Lindley.
At one point, the company owned 1,000 acres in the area and has controlled development there for decades. Today, Lindley said, about 300 acres remain available and Sunbeam has been talking with other major retailers.
"We're a little bit different from other developers," Lindley said, calling Sunbeam patient about selling parcels. "We think Ikea, obviously being...