Scandinavian Designs furniture chain set to enter market

California-based furniture chain Scandinavian Designs plans to open its first Indiana store at 8250 Castleton Corner Drive, in a now-vacant building that formerly housed a Toys “R” Us store.

The building, which occupies just over 44,100 square feet, is adjacent to Castleton Square Mall.

It’s unclear how coronavirus-related business restrictions may affect the timing of the project. A Scandinavian Designs spokeswoman declined to say when the Indianapolis store might open, saying that she did not have time to answer questions right now because of the pandemic.

But Scandinavian Designs has filed several planning documents with the city of Indianapolis over the past several weeks.

One of those documents, dated March 19, lists Roth Sheppard Architects of Denver as the project architect, with estimated remodeling costs of $250,000 and construction expected to start this year. The document did not specify which month work might begin.

It also appears that the retailer has had its eyes on the Castleton location for some time.

According to an Indiana real estate sales disclosure form, Toys “R” Us sold the Castleton store to White River 1430 LLC for $2.5 million in August 2018. The LLC’s listed address is the same as that of Scandinavian Designs’ corporate office in Petaluma, California, just north of San Francisco.

Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the fall of 2017. In March 2018, the new Jersey-based retailer announced it would close all 740 of its stores.

Scandinavian Designs, a family-owned company founded in 1963, operates 38 stores in 10 states: 20 in California, four in Washington, three each in Oregon and Illinois, and one each in Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada and South Dakota.

The chain sells both indoor and outdoor furniture and home accessories, such as wall art and lamps, in a range of prices. Sofas, for instance, start around $500 for basic models, and top $4,000 on the high end for leather sectionals.

The company’s website also lists two additional locations as coming soon, one in Colorado and one in Washington state.

Its Castleton store wouldn’t be the first in that area to sell Scandinavian furniture. A store called Scandinavian Comfort once operated near 82nd Street and Allisonville Road. It’s now in business at College Avenue and Kessler Boulevard.