There are many Fresno residents who believe that IKEA, the low-cost furniture store, would be a better anchor for downtown revitalization than Bass Pro, which is being pursued by the city. But Council Member Jerry Duncan says IKEA is not an option -- at least right now.
This is a statement from Duncan, which he posted on the local Web site Mindhub: "We have talked to IKEA and they indicate that when the population of Fresno metro hits 1 million, we will be on their radar screen. Until then, we are too small for their concept."
So this isn't about choosing Bass Pro over IKEA. Bass Pro is the one showing interest, while IKEA for now has Fresno on the backburner.
This is a description of IKEA from Wikipedia: "IKEA is a privately-held, international, low-cost home products retailer. IKEA was founded in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad, but is owned by a Dutch-registered foundation, controlled by the Kamprad family. Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is the owner/franchiser of the IKEA trademark and the IKEA Concept."
This is Wikipedia's description of Bass Pro: "Bass Pro Shops is a privately held sporting goods and outdoor goods store headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. In addition to the Outdoor World store located at the corner of Sunshine and Cambell in Springfield, Bass Pro Shops has over 35 large retail stores in the United States and one in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada."
An IKEA would be nice. And unlike a BassPro store, I'd actually shop there. But I can understand why they're not coming here yet - Sacramento didn't even get one until recently.
But while putting in a store like one of these would be a positive step, it wouldn't do that much to revitalize the rest of downtown. People aren't going to fill their pickup trucks with brand-new furniture, then leave them parked while they feed the squirrels at Courthouse Park.
What is needed is to make downtown a destination people want to go to, and be willing to pay to park there. A big store that people drive in and out of won't do it.
One idea that would work for me would be a permanent farmer's market (open at convenient times), mixed with a variety of eating places representing our city's ethnic diversity. Put it on the Fulton Mall, and I'd even pay for the parking to visit it.
Fixing the hotel situation would help, too. How much convention business is downtown losing out of because there's no place to stay other than the Radisson?
IKEA would be wonderful to have in this area...
Meanwhile, The Container Store would be very popular, as it is in other cities I visit
http://www.containerstore.com/