Cary residents flock to IKEA meet-and-greet at mall

CARY, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Nicole Tillery has lived in Cary since 1990 and has seen the area change through the years. Ten years ago, she decided to help push that change and penned a letter to IKEA headquarters.

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She said she told them all about North Carolina's vibrant scenes, bragged about the Research Triangle Park and shared how there are several major universities and colleges in the area. She told them this would be the perfect area to build a store.

"I think it got lost in the mail," Tillery said with a laugh.

Even so, she was more than happy to hear about the plan years later and made sure to attend a meet-and-greet with IKEA representatives.

The IKEA reps played host to the event on Thursday night inside of what used to be The Limited clothing store inside Cary Towne Center.

They posted information showing that the store will cover 15 acres and provide hundreds of jobs in retail and in construction.

Organizers said within the first hour, more than 300 people had already shown up before Tillery arrived.

"It's a home spot when people travel or when people visit from other countries, they know it and so one of the things I've learned is it would be perfect for here because of the global environment that we have, the schools that we have and the traffic that comes through RTP," Tillery said.

IKEA is still holding more community events and public hearings to try to flag any concerns from residents.

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One concern that has been brought up is traffic.

IKEA representatives say they are looking at vehicle flow and plans could include things such as adding turn lanes. They are also looking for input from town leaders.

If all goes as planned, construction could begin in 2019, and the store would open in fall of 2020.