GREENVILLE, S.C. — A proposal that could bring the first IKEA store in South Carolina to Greenville, S.C., has stalled over traffic improvements on Woodruff Road, and the city Board of Zoning Appeals is set to take up the dispute Thursday, Oct. 8.
The owner of the Magnolia Park shopping center applied in October 2025 for a permit to convert a 58,907-square-foot space, the former Urban Air Adventure Park at 1025 Woodruff Road, into a small-scale IKEA. The site sits on one of the busiest corridors in the Upstate, near Costco, Bass Pro Shops and the Interstate 85 and 385 interchange.
Between April and July, the shopping center, city staff and the South Carolina Department of Transportation worked out a plan to widen the Magnolia Park driveway so traffic leaving the center would have a separate left-turn lane, a through lane and a separate right-turn lane. The work is estimated at about $1.5 million.
Magnolia Park agreed to make the improvements but says the 12- to 15-month construction timeline could sink the deal. According to its appeal, the lease would let IKEA walk away if a construction permit was not secured by September 2026. The center offered to post a $1.5 million bond guaranteeing the road work if the store could open first.
The city turned that request down, saying its code does not allow the development to open before the traffic work is finished. Magnolia Park is not challenging the requirement itself, only the order in which the work must happen, and argues the bond should be enough.
City staff has recommended that the seven-member board uphold the denial. The board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. at 206 S. Main Street.
IKEA has said it is always looking at new opportunities for growth but has not announced plans for a Greenville location. The company opened nine small-format stores in its 2026 fiscal year.
