Positioning for growth throughout Southeast Florida, City Furniture today opened a 93,680-square-foot “destination” furniture superstore in Boca Raton that features both City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore showrooms. Innovative and “green” from its rooftop solar tubes for daylight harvesting to its LED lighting inside and out, the iconic structure at 3350 Airport Road is South Florida’s first full-line furniture store pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
“This opening is truly about sustainability – both economic and environmental,” said City Furniture President Keith Koenig. “Our company’s roots are in South Florida, and we’re deeply committed to grow with and help sustain this region. We’re pleased to have generated more than 200 construction jobs and to be adding about 50 new retail jobs as we launch the store’s operations.” Overall, the Broward County-based company employs more than 800. City Furniture’s ground lease with the Boca Raton Airport Authority will also help support local economic growth, with rent going to enhance airport operations.
“Building ‘green’ is a natural extension of our corporate values and sustainable practices. Going forward, we’ll look to achieve LEED certification in every location where that’s doable,” Koenig said, noting that several new stores and renovations are on the boards for 2011 for the firm, which is South Florida’s top-selling furniture retailer.
Built by Stiles Construction and designed by architectural firm Garcia Stromberg, the new building takes its design inspiration in part from the neighboring Boca Raton Airport. Rooflines are memorable – a wing-like roof defining the Ashley Furniture HomeStore and a dramatic vaulted roof over City Furniture recalling the shape of historic airplane hangars.
The building is one of just a handful of furniture stores nationwide that has been built to LEED standards, and the project team is seeking certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The superstore’s environmental features are expected to use 42% less water for interior uses and 78% less for landscape irrigation. The high-efficiency energy management system, heat-reducing features throughout and strategic use of natural light will conserve energy.
“While our customers will appreciate the ‘green’ features, they’ll see other dramatic changes in this new store,” Koenig said. “We’re continually reinventing our business to meet customers’ needs in a changing market, and this is the ideal location to introduce City Furniture’s next-generation store design. We’re striving to delight customers with the Boca Raton market’s widest selection, from furnishings for every room of the home to outdoor and home office furniture. They’ll find new high-fashion displays and upscale, museum-quality finishes.”
City Furniture’s exceptional value for the price and same-day delivery are unchanged – as are the company’s free, just-baked chocolate chip cookies that customers can enjoy with Seattle’s Best coffee at the superstore’s central café.
With the Boca Raton location in full swing, reconfiguring its network of stores to grow “smarter and greener” is at the heart of City Furniture’s business strategy. The company recently closed three smaller stores in Boca Raton, Pompano Beach and Lantana, anticipating that the Boca Raton store will draw regionally and produce substantially higher revenues. The firm now has 14 City Furniture stores and nine Ashley Furniture HomeStores throughout Southeast and Southwest Florida.
City Furniture is the Ashley Furniture HomeStore brand’s licensee in southeast and southwest Florida. Koenig said his company plans to roll out its next-generation store format and increase the number of adjacent Ashley Furniture HomeStores going forward. “By parking once to visit two distinct showrooms, our customers can see the widest selection in the least time,” he explained.
If demand for home furnishings continues to improve in 2011, Koenig said the firm plans to begin:
- Constructing a new 56,000-square-foot City Furniture store in Cutler Bay to Silver LEED standards and renovating the firm’s existing store, located on an adjacent site, as an Ashley Furniture HomeStore.
- Fully renovating the City Furniture store in Pinecrest’s Dadeland area, expanding with a second floor.
- Building a new Ashley Furniture HomeStore next to the existing City Furniture store in West Palm Beach.
- Creating a new Ashley Furniture HomeStore on Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale at the former Modernage store, pending negotiations that are underway to lease a portion of that property to a bank.
Several hundred guests are invited to attend the opening event on January 13, which features a silent auction of home furnishings to benefit Hospice by the Sea of Boca Raton and Florida Atlantic University. The auction is the latest example of another City Furniture value – giving back to the communities in which it does business.
For more information visit www.cityfurniture.com.