Local auto malls progress at different rates of speed

LOVELAND – Zoom, zoom, zoom.

Earthmovers and bulldozers are kicking up dust at Centerra for a new complex of automobile dealerships, joining the construction traffic already under way for the Promenade shopping center and the Medical Center of the Rockies.

Called the Motorplex at Centerra, the new development at the north end of the Centerra project is planned for 15 car dealerships spread out over 180 acres. The site will be at the intersection of I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard, just south of the new Thunder Mountain Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership.

For now, the only dealership that’s broken ground is Co’s BMW in Fort Collins, but that will probably change soon.

Jeff Whiton, the senior vice-president of community development at McWhinney Enterprises, the developer of Centerra, said two more dealerships are under contract for the Motorplex. Furthermore, McWhinney Enterprises is negotiating with six more. Davidson Chevrolet and Ferrerro’s Auto Center, both fixtures of Loveland, have expressed keen interest in moving out to the site.

Dawkins said the 38,000-square-foot BMW facility should be complete Oct. 7 and the company plans to open in its new surroundings October 28. They will be the first to open on the site.

“This is quite an expansion for us,´ said Dawkins, who said the present facility at 2849 S. College Ave. amounts to an 11,000-square-foot building on less than two acres. “But we needed it. We’re pretty regional.”

Dawkins’ territory not only includes Northern Colorado but Wyoming as well. She said she hopes the new site will fulfill all the company’s needs until 2015.

Joe Gebhardt, the owner of Davidson Chevrolet in Loveland, says he hasn’t moved out the Motorplex but is under contract to do so. Right now his company is conducting due diligence on the deal. “It’s too early for me to comment on that (any move) right now.”

Gebhardt did say that he is desperate for land and describes his operation, which has been in Loveland for 44 years, as being “shoehorned” into four acres at 1604 N. Lincoln Ave. in Loveland. If he moves to the Motorplex, he can get nine acres.

Not only will the land be a plus, but Gebhardt says there are other advantages in the site. “There would be a lot of traffic out there,” he said. “A lot of synergy.” Gebhardt says that if he does move out to the Motorplex he may keep a used-car operation in Loveland.

Ryan Ferrero has been in Loveland for 27 years.  He also says he’s got a month to go in the due diligence phase. He didn’t say he was moving out to the Motorplex but would know for sure by November.

“We really like where we are, ” Ferrero said, talking about his operation at 2600 N. Lincoln Ave. “But we’re landlocked here. There’s been a lot of construction around us and there are things like we don’t get the visibility of the mountains that we used to enjoy. Moving out to the Motorplex would solve something like that.”

Plus, moving to the I-25 site is potentially lucrative. “Every business you talk to, out there, they are not just number one in the state, they are number one in the (Rocky Mountain) region.” Ferrerro said. “Harley Davidson out there is brand new and they are already talking about a 30,000-square-foot expansion.”

Ferrerro calls the Motorplex a “natural expansion.”

“First you had the expansion along the rivers,” Ferrerro said. “Then you had the railroads moving in and you saw expansion along those. Then they built the highways like (U.S. Highway) 287 and you saw growth there. Now you have the interstate.”

What Ferrero will do with the existing facilities if he makes the move is still uncertain. He may sell it, use it for a body shop, or use it as a service and used-car lot.

Another company interested in moving is King Pontiac GMC Subaru, now at 401 S. Lincoln Ave. in Loveland. Co-owner Rex King was on vacation and was not available for comment.

Whiton said construction work on the Autoplex is “moving along quite well.” Four of the lots are immediately available and nine of them should be ready by the spring. Paving on phase one of the project is complete and McWhinney Enterprises is now seeking landscaping bids so the Motorplex will not be, as Whiton put it, “a sea of concrete.”

New name in Windsor

The Centerra Motorplex will not be the only one of its kind.

John Chamberlain, principal of the Champion Auto Group in Greeley, is moving forward with plans for an auto plaza at the intersection of U.S. Highway 34 and Weld County Road 17 in south Windsor.

Initially dubbed Iron Mountain Autoplex, the project’s name has been changed to Southgate Business Park.

Iron Mountain was considered too confusing for the planning process. There have been rumors that Southgate was not even going to be built, rumors that would be news to the town of Windsor planning department.

 “They’re in their second site review,´ said Diana Lonergan, associate planner for Windsor. The next step for Champion is to look over the comments raised by the planning department and reply with answers.

Asked if there was any serious impediments to the project, Lonergan directed any inquiries to Windsor’s director of engineering, Dennis Wagner, who did not return a phone call.

Chamberlain was not available for comment on the progress at Southgate, which was initially scheduled to break ground in January. In previous statements, Chamberlain has said his primary goal is to populate the new complex with his own dealerships. Champion Auto Group currently operates a Chevrolet franchise in Windsor, as well Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Kia dealerships in Greeley. He’s also planning to bring a new Mazda dealership to the region.

The Southgate site spans 70 acres, although the first phase of the auto complex is initially designed for about 40 acres.

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