 In January 2006, IKEA announced its intention to build a 25,800 m2 (278,000 ft2) store, its first in Northern Ireland.In May 2006, IKEA amended its application for a larger 29,000 m2 (312,000 ft2) store.The application was approved in December 2006, work on the store began in January 2007, and the store opened on 13 December 2007.