Steel framing on the 415,000-square-foot IKEA store under construction in Centennial has progressed far enough that installation of the retailer’s iconic blue panels has begun.

“They’ll go around all sides to form the shell of the building,” said Joseph Roth, IKEA’s national spokesman. “It’s a composite material that actually comes blue. Lots of people think we paint them.”

On a recent visit to Centennial, Roth watched as construction workers started installation of the eye-catching panels, which are designed to attract I-25 traffic to the Dry Creek Road and County Line Road exits.

“It takes a while to get going because you want to line up the first one perfectly,” Roth said of the workers’ diligence. “If you mess that one up, you’re going back and redoing a lot.”

Erection of the panels is effectively part of a timeline that ensures Colorado’s first IKEA store will open next fall as planned, according to a recent IKEA press release.

Centennial-based Saunders Construction is leading efforts to keep construction of the retailer’s second largest outlet in North America on target. The store built on 13.5 acres will include two levels each of shopping and parking.

The Centennial location will be the first U.S. IKEA store to use an underground geothermal system, a feature expected to save the corporation 40 percent to 50 percent on its heating and cooling bills. The store will be the largest geothermal building in Colorado, according to Roth.

“We literally will have no gas connection to the building,” he said. “We have approximately 130 holes dug 500 feet deep and approximately 27 pipes going in.”

The “green” innovation briefly caught up with IKEA over the summer when a series of unexpected rainstorms filled many of the then-exposed 500-foot holes with water.

In addition to 10,000 exclusively-designed items, IKEA will present 50 room settings, three complete model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.

“We expect to have customers from Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas,” Roth said of the store’s touted drawing power. “It’s a very unique product offering at very affordable prices and the whole shopping experience is very unique.”

Family-friendly features include a “Children’s IKEA” area, “family parking” and baby-care rooms.

Roth would not provide precise information on construction costs, but called the store a “multi-million dollar” project.

IKEA expects to hire about 400 employees when the company opens its 38th store in the United States. More than 300 IKEA stores currently operate in 38 countries.

Roth anticipates local excitement, even a degree of IKEA-mania, when the Centennial store opens some 10 to 12 months from now.

“People will camp out. They’ll bring lawn chairs and tents. But we don’t let them start until 48 hours in advance of the opening,” he said.