Shovel Meets Dirt When Ikea (Finally) Breaks Ground on April 9

Swedish meatball and furniture purveyor Ikea finally plans to ram a shovel in the dirt to start construction of its 351,000-square-foot mega-store opening next summer at 1-215 and Durango Drive. On April 9, the dreams of many a Las Vegan come true when that first shovel of topsoil gets the construction process underway.

Ikea made many dreams come true when it announced plans to open its very first location in Las Vegas last July.

The two-story building will feature 242,911 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 108,187 square feet on the upper level. Included will be 16,350 square feet of Swedish-inspired dining in a restaurant with room to seat 450. That makes the footprint of the dining room bigger than 1OAK Nightclub at the Mirage.

Meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates have already been promised for the menu. For take-home dining, a 1,200-square-foot convenience store will offer frozen meat, fish, seafood and easy to prepare dishes alongside Nordic-inspired desserts, candy, sauces and condiments.

The shopping mecca already made allowances for 597 parking spaces and are thinking about what you will do with the kids. Shoppers can make use of a child care facility to look after children while you shop. You need to be shopping though, you can't drop them off on a daily basis. Other family-friendly features include a Children's Ikea area in the main showroom, baby care rooms and there will be supervised play areas throughout the store.

For Las Vegas, look forward to "10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room settings" and three model home interiors to help inspire you.

Once completed next summer, Ikea already has plans to open an additional 63,987 square feet of shopping. That includes 49,722-square-foot downstairs and 14,265-square-foot up top, ultimately making Las Vegas at 415,085 square feet equal in size to the second largest Ikea in the country.