POSTED: Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008
Wilson Motors prepares for quick move to new facility
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closeBELLINGHAM - It's been more than two years in the making, but Wilson Motors will finally get its new facility.
The dealership, which sells Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Scion models, will continue selling vehicles through the weekend at the corner of Forest and East Champion streets, then will be open at its new facility at 1100 Iowa St. Monday, Sept. 29.
Planning a move while still selling and servicing cars at the old location is a challenge logistically, but general manager Rick Wilson expects everything to be ready on Monday.
"It's a little crazy right now, but we're very happy with how the facility has turned out," Wilson said.
The new dealership will have 52,000 square feet of space and have about 400 cars on site, twice the number of cars they currently have, Wilson said. He plans on having more vehicles of current models, as well as an expanded used vehicle department.
"We felt we were very confined in what we could offer with used cars, so we're looking forward to expanding that," Wilson said.
A variety of factors caused the project to take so long to finish. When plans for the move were first announced in April 2006, Wilson Motors had to wait for Wholesale Auto Parts to move off the site, which took about a year.
That part of the site was very clean, which helped move the process along, but then Wilson found extensive cleanup work needed to be done at a former gas station site on the property. Then it was a challenge getting permits to build next to Whatcom Creek.
"It turned out to be a very complex project that took more time than we expected," Wilson said. "We were pleased to find Jerry Thomas (owner of Wholesale Auto Parts) did an amazing job. He ran an extremely clean operation, considering it was basically a wrecking yard."
The new dealership will have an environmentally friendly rain garden, where storm water seeps through rocks and pebbles, minimizing the impact on Whatcom Creek.
While car sales have been much slower this year with high gas prices across the U.S., Wilson said that through July, sales were about even with 2007, which was the dealership's best year. He attributes much of his sales success to hybrid car models, such as the Prius.
Nationwide, Prius sales are down about 4 percent compared to last year, which the company has blamed on low inventory. According to data collected by Bloomberg News, about half of the hybrids sold in the U.S. through August were Priuses.
"We were in the fortunate position of being with an auto company well-known for its hybrid vehicles," Wilson said.
The 16,000-square-foot service repair facility on 1515 N. Forest St. will be taken over by Unlimited Service Downtown, which is currently on 1818 Franklin St. Owner Todd Black said he plans to be in the Forest Street facility on Oct. 6, expanding a variety of the company's auto repair services.
The sales side of Wilson Motor's old dealership, on the east side of Forest Street and north of East Champion Street, is for sale.
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