Signs are up for Toronto's newest IKEA location, but there is growing doubt that the retailer will open the 80,000-square-foot space this summer as initially announced.

The much-anticipated Scarborough Town Centre IKEA was first revealed in November 2022, following the success of the popular "urban format" store introduced in downtown Toronto. At the time of that announcement, IKEA had intended to open up shop within the mall's former Sears space by this summer.

Iconic blue and yellow signage is now visible around the under-construction IKEA location, doubling down on that planned summer opening. However, the season is in full swing, and the multinational furniture conglomerate remains tight-lipped about any potential opening dates.

An IKEA representative was unable to provide blogTO with a firm date, or even a window of time when asked, stating that the retailer is "unable to share a confirmed grand opening date but [they] look forward to sharing that update in the near future."

The IKEA rep asserts that crews working on the new urban format store "continue to move with speed" and adds that the retailer is "excited to open our doors to customers at IKEA Scarborough Town Centre very soon."

Crews directly responsible for the conversion of the former Sears cast further doubt on the summer opening promise. One worker on the scene told blogTO that they expect the job to be complete by December or possibly even early 2024.

"This scaled retail concept brings home to life in a new way," said IKEA in a release when announcing the new location back in 2022.

"It takes the inspiring IKEA experience to the doorstep of urban residents and is proving popular with hundreds of thousands of customers who have made visits to the downtown store since it opened in May 2022."

Like the downtown urban format store, the STC IKEA will be smaller in size than the standard suburban big-box outlet, but larger than the small "design studio" concepts within other malls.

As with a full-sized IKEA, the STC location will offer a wide range of items — including its signature food products — available for direct purchases. With limited space for storage, larger pieces of furniture, like beds and couches, will be available on display only, with home delivery from an off-site warehouse after purchase.

The sea of surface parking surrounding the mall and future IKEA is also up for some transformative change on the horizon, as the mall's owner, Oxford Properties Group, is working to develop a massive mixed-use community with STC remaining at the heart of the development.