Holy crap--that's a huge difference. Here's a picture of the former IKEA store as it looks today (the photo probably covers half the space). As you can see, it's a much smaller century-old building.
http://www.salescene.com/moxies.html
IKEA rumours continue to surface every few years here but presumably IKEA head office has run the numbers and concluded Richmond serves the Island adequatley. Nanaimo might be able to use one if it continues to grow.
I agree--I hope any new ones here have a smaller footprint with complementary retail and a location closer to the downtown core. Not a giant sprawl-monster.