Ikea store in Halifax area is the work of developer Glenn Munro

Now that it's official that Ikea is opening a full 30,500-square-metre store in theretail development of Dartmouth Crossing, it's time to meet the man who brought the meatballs and Scandinavian furniture aestheticto town.

Glenn Munro is with the North American Development Group, the developers behind Dartmouth Crossing. He doesn't leave any doubt who is the Allen key that put this deal together.

"It's been my baby since day one," Munro told CBC's Tom Murphy.

The store planned for Halifax is an average size for Ikea in Canada. But it's dwarfed by the company'slargest store in Seoul, South Korea, which is twice the size of what will be built in Halifax.

Munrosaid thejourney to bring Ikea to Halifax started over a decade ago.

"It was just a question of time. We did the Ikea in Boucherville[Quebec] in 2003 and we've been talking with them since then, on and off and they said when we're ready we'll come and talk to you," he said.

"At the time they had said 'We have to do Winnipeg first, and after Winnipeg, we'll take a look, take a breather.' And so after that it started to heat up."

The serious discussion began about a year ago, Munro said.

The pitch for Halifax

"You didn't need to pitch the market, they know that probably better than we do in terms of what they need and what they want," Munro said.

One advantage of Dartmouth Crossing, he said, islots of infrastructure has beeninstalled in around the retailpark.

"When you actually look at the site and look at the access options, look at the roadways, the water, the stormwater, the storm ponds, all that stuff, it's all in place," he said.

Munro hopes an Ikea at Dartmouth Crossingwill attract other retailers. He said itwill sit nicely side-by-side with Cabela, anoutdoor retailer that was alsorecently announced for the site.

What isthe selling feature of having an Ikea?

"They're very much international, iconic is a bit of an overused word, but very much iconic retailers," Munro said."They're very much super-regional. So if you're going to be looking to be shopping in the Maritimes, we're at the top of the list."

Jobs will also be at the top of the list for many Maritimerswhen the store opens.

The company already employs147,000 people, with about 350 employees to be added to that tally when the Halifax location opens.