Town council approves new IKEA location in Cary

CARY, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The Triangle is one step closer to getting an IKEA. On Thursday night, town leaders approved the request to add the store to the Cary Towne Center.

Town leaders voted unanimously on rezoning 20-acres of the Cary Towne Center, which will now include up to a 380,000-square-foot IKEA.

The rezoning request will turn the area from general commercial conditional use to a mixed-use district.

"It's going to bring economic development and at the same time they were very conscientious of how it was going to impact the surrounding neighborhoods," said Cary resident Dan Pike.

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The Cary Planning Department and Cary Planning and Zoning Board have already voted to recommend the necessary zoning variances.

Town officials are banking on the development to revitalize the flagging shopping center. Sears closed a store there in 2015, Macy's shuttered its store in 2016.

"We went last weekend to the mall and I was kind of upset of how there was nobody there so it's going to be very exciting to have people finally come back to the mall and see what's going on," said Cary resident Joy Pike. "Plus it will supposedly help redevelop the other end of the mall, too."

Some residents have expressed concerns about the certain increase in traffic.

Council members acknowledge that there will be large crowds, especially when the store first opens, but said roads have been designed in this area with the anticipation of growth.

Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and the store could open in 2020.