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A New Car Dealership Was Denied In Delray Beach. The Developer Is Hoping The Courts Will Save The Project

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A developer spent $10 million on a piece of land in Delray Beach with big plans of opening a brand new car dealership along Federal Highway.

Those plans are on life support, though, after the City Commission quashed the proposal in September. Now, the developer is hoping the courts will step in and keep the proposal alive.

The developer, ABC JC Auto Imports LLC, has filed a petition for a circuit court to review the decision, claiming its due process rights were violated by the commission. Filed by Fort Lauderdale law firm Greenspoon Marder LLP, the petition asks for a court to review the decision of a lower court, or in this case, a government body.

During a September meeting, the City Commission narrowly denied a rezoning application that would have allowed the proposed 4.3-acre Hyundai dealership to operate at 2419 N. Federal Highway.

The proposed Hyundai dealership would be built on a vacant lot that has remained undeveloped for more than a decade and an adjacent pottery store. The land was purchased for $10 million in January, according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser records.

As a result, Delray Hyundai would move from its current location just south of George Bush Boulevard into the new property, which is twice as large. Nearby businesses include Gunther Volkswagen and Gunther Volvo dealerships, a car wash, a home furnishing store, and bicycle shop.

If a circuit court judge determines the plaintiffs were not afforded due process rights, the case will be sent back to the City Commission and be reheard. The court cannot uniformly overrule the commission’s decision and grant the zoning application.

The petition claims the proposal “satisfied all of the applicable requirements of the city of Delray Beach and Florida” and that commissioners made a “faulty and unsupported determination.”

Delray Beach City Attorney Lynn Gelin said the city can’t comment on current litigation.

During the Aug. 16 meeting, city commissioners voted 3-2 against the proposal. Among the concerns were the dealership directly abutting a residential neighborhood to the east and concerns about allocating more of the city’s scarce available land to car dealerships when Delray Beach already has more than 20 dealerships in business.

Additionally, a new AutoNation Land Rover Jaguar dealership is being planned for 1001 W. Linton Blvd., adjacent to a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

More than 98% of the city is already built out, making it difficult for developers to find large pieces of land to build on. While much of the city’s recent development has centered around the downtown, Congress Avenue and the southern portion of Federal Highway, the northern part of Federal could become a new hot spot for development.

Across the street from the proposed car dealership, a luxury home developer purchased Ellie’s 50′s Diner, which operated for 32 years, for $5 million in July. In the short term, the plan is for the site to remain a dining establishment with new operators and a new theme, but the long term plan will likely see it transformed into condominiums or townhomes.

 

Source:  SunSentinel

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Federal EV Charging Funds Could Boost Overlooked Property Type

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When Bertha Benz made the world’s first road trip in an automobile 134 years ago, one of the tricky points of the voyage was finding a place to refuel. Luckily, chemists at the pharmacy carried ligroin, a lab solvent made of petroleum, which propelled Benz and her children on their 110-mile trip in Carl Benz’s grand invention.

Electric vehicle proponents hope the rollout of the $5B National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program will make it a little easier for EV drivers in the U.S. to charge than it was for Benz to refuel in 1888 Germany.

And like during the Benz road trip, EV drivers should soon get an assist from an existing property type — this time, gas stations, which experts said could get a boost in business with the installation of chargers.

Decades ago, gas stations simply sold gas before eventually incorporating convenience offerings, car washes, food, ATMs and lottery sales, said NRC Realty & Capital Advisors Executive Managing Director Evan Gladstone, whose company represents sellers of convenience stores and gas stations.

All of those additions have made the properties more appealing as an investment, and the added amenity of EV chargers could similarly boost owners of filling stations.

“The more sources of income that a convenience store can generate, the bigger the bottom line,” Gladstone told Bisnow. “And certainly the biggest cost probably in an EV charger is the permitting and installation. So once it’s in there, if we had a set of stores that had EV charging stations, it would absolutely be a great selling point.”

It takes generally 20 to 30 minutes to charge a vehicle up to an 80% full battery with fast charging, four to six times as long as a five-minute gas tank fill-up.

“EV charging is going to be a destination,” said Sheryl Ponds, founder and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based charging solution company Dai Technologies Corp. “And people are going to be there for at least 15 or 20 minutes, which is a whole lot longer than gasoline at the pump.”

Gas stations have been a popular niche commercial real estate asset class for years because of their diversified revenue streams, with more than $2B in annual transaction in the years leading up to the pandemic, according to a CCIM report. EV charging figures to boost the appeal.

“From the perspective of a business owner of one of those locations, that is more time for somebody to spend in their facility, grabbing maybe more food than they would typically have because they have time to actually wait and eat rather than trying to drive on the road,” said Hadley Tallackson, a policy analyst at nonpartisan energy and climate think tank Energy Innovation. “So I would say there’s a really strong case for these more convenience-oriented restaurants as well.”

The Federal Highway Administration earlier this month approved 35 states’ NEVI proposals, which are expected to result in EV charging access across 53,000 miles of U.S. highways. As the FHWA finalizes the remaining states’ proposals by the end of the month, service station operators are eager to offer what for many is a new way to refuel.

“I don’t think we’re far away from having a lot more traffic expecting that kind of amenity at our truck stop,” said Raina Shoemaker, who co-owns and operates two travel centers in Lincoln, Nebraska. “And I also think that we’re a part of the chicken-and-the-egg scenario, that you need more EV drivers to have the chargers, but EV drivers need to see more EV chargers to really buy into getting more EV vehicles.”

Source: Bisnow

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Sperry CGA | RJ Realty’s Ron Osborne Closes Three Automotive Property Transactions Valued At $13.5 Million

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Ron Osborne, Managing Director/Broker of SperryCGA | RJ Realty, has completed 3 major transactions within the automotive real estate sector.

After working through a variety of property and title issues for more than a year, The Taverna Collection, an entity managed by GianMarco Taverna, purchased the Ted Vernon Specialty Automobiles location at 8301 NW 7 Ave. in Miami (pictured above) from TAM Investment Properties, LLC, Both the dealership and property were owned and operated by Ted Vernon. The properties consist of approximately 38,961 square feet of buildings and a total of 3.53 acres of land. The transaction closed at $6,500,000. Xavier Cossard PA assisted in the sale. In a separate transaction. Ted Vernon Specialty Automobiles will be relocating to Greater Orlando in the near future and the purchase will complete its 1031 exchange. This subsequent transaction, which was facilitated by SperryCGA/Flint Brokers, an affiliate office, closed on August 2.

The second transaction involved the sale/leaseback of 500 N. State Road 7 in Plantation. The property sold for $1.7 million. The seller, 500 Ventures, LLC, sold the property and a related company, Car Net Auto Sales, Inc. The tenant leased the property back for 5 years on a triple net basis. The combined value of the transaction was approximately $2.4 million. Osborne stated that the location being situated on a hard-lighted corner along with having legal conforming zoning for auto sales drove the value. The transaction marks the third transaction Osborne has completed with the same buyer, GCDC 3, LLC, for automotive properties in the South Florida area.

The third transaction was the leasing of 770 N. State Road 7, an auto repair facility located in Plantation, owned by GCDC 2, LLC. The lease is a true triple net lease transaction with an approximate lease value of $650,000 for the 5-year term. Osborne supervised the renovations of the property after it was purchased back in December 2021 for $1,450,000.

770 N. State Road 7 Plantation-After Renovation

Osborne believes strongly that any automotive property in a prime location with legal conforming zoning and an active dealer and repair license will only increase in long term value. He has multiple clients that are always looking for automotive related properties in prime location in the tri-county area.

 

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New Lincoln Dealership Proposed In Coconut Creek

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Auto magnate Terry Taylor wants to build a Lincoln dealership in Coconut Creek.

The 79,897-square-foot Lincoln of Coconut Creek would be constructed next to Infiniti of Coconut Creek, at 5501 W. Sample Road. The entire property is owned by TT of Sample LLC, led by Taylor of West Palm Beach-based dealership giant Automotive Management Services.

The company currently operates a small Lincoln dealership within the Infiniti building.

The city’s Development Review Committee heard the plans on July 14, and city staff will continue to review the application until it’s ready for the Planning and Zoning Board as well as the City Commission, said Amy Edwards, a development review specialist with the city of Coconut Creek.

The Lincoln dealership would have 29,924 square feet of showroom and office space, 49,973 square feet of automotive retail and 358 parking spaces. Penney Design Group in Bethesda, Maryland designed the project.

The only other Lincoln dealerships in Broward County are in Pembroke Pines and Pompano Beach.

South Florida is one of the busiest markets in the country for car sales, and the increase in new car values has boosted sales for many dealers. Building a stand-alone Lincoln dealership will make it easier for Taylor to provide repair and maintenance service to his customers.

 

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Lithia Motors & Driveway Pays Combined $72.27 Million For Lehman Dealership Enterprises Real Estate Assets

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Lithia Motors & Driveway paid a combined $72.27 million for the real estate assets of Lehman Dealership Enterprises, according to Miami-Dade County records.

Medford, Oregon-based Lithia announced the acquisition of the family-owned chain of nine dealerships on June 28, but didn’t disclose the price. The deeds filed in Miami-Dade list the prices of the real estate but not other assets that were likely included in the deal, such as the value of automotive inventory and the dealership franchises.

Here is how the sales from Lehman to various affiliates of Lithia Motors broke down:

  • Largo Honda, totaling 203,528 square feet on 3.7 acres at 554 N.E. 1st Ave., Florida City, sold for $22 million.
  • Doral Hyundai and Doral Genesis, totaling 40,654 square feet on 11.9 acres at 10285 N.W. 12th St., sold for a combined $26.73 million in two deeds.
  • Doral Kia, located on three acres at 10155 N.W. 12th St., sold for $6.69 million.
  • Lehman Buick GMC and Lehman Subaru, totaling 79,810 square feet on 13.7 acres at 21200 N.W. Second Ave., Miami Gardens, sold for a combined $12.97 million in two deeds.
  • Lehman Leasing, Van, Truck & Bus, totaling 11,711 square feet on 3.4 acres at 20950 N.W. Second Ave., sold for $2.69 million.
  • Lehman Mitsubishi, covering two acres at 21000 N.W. Second Ave., Miami Gardens, sold for $1.19 million.

Bill Lehman Jr. said the dealerships have nearly 500 employees and Lithia is keeping almost all of them. They had about $850 million in sales a year.

 

Source:  SFBJ

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Car Demand Fizzled Two Years Ago But Now Delray Beach Has Two Dealerships The Works

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Despite car sales waning since the beginning of the pandemic, Delray Beach is seeing significant reinvestment in the industry with a pair of large new dealerships in development.

Earlier in June, the city gave preliminary approval for a new 4.3-acre Hyundai dealership at 2419 N. Federal Highway. As a result, Delray Hyundai would move from its current location just south of George Bush Boulevard into the new property, which is twice as large.

Additionally, a new AutoNation Land Rover Jaguar dealership is being planned for 1001 W. Linton Blvd., adjacent to a Mercedes-Benz dealership. Plans have been submitted to the city and are currently under review.

This comes less than a year after Tesla opened a service center in Delray Beach along Federal Highway.

The commitment to new dealerships comes after the industry experienced significant losses at the beginning of the pandemic. In 2020, rental car companies sold off more than 770,000 vehicles, a third of their combined fleet, according to the Washington Post.

Additionally, inflation and supply chain issues have caused car prices to skyrocket with new car prices jumping 12.6% since last year, according to Fortune Magazine. In May, new car sales dropped 11% from April, marking the lowest level since December, according to Bloomberg.

Karl Brauer, an executive analyst at iSeeCars.com , said supply-chain issues, such as a global shortage in microchips, which are vitally important for new cars, have helped cause the significant drop.

“We don’t have enough cars being produced and that’s causing people to keep their current car, which restricts used-car supply,” Brauer said. “[That] causes old and new [car] prices to shoot up like they have in the past 18 months.”

While the supply-chain issues are causing significant problems, Brauer said he thinks there’s “optimism and some valid thinking [in the industry] that this is transitory” and that eventually the microchip issues will be resolved and help stabilize the business model.

AutoNation “continues to both build and buy dealerships, so clearly there’s confidence at that level for these kind of dealer conglomerates to continue to grow whether the buy existing dealers and add them to the mix or build brand new ones,” Brauer said.

Delray Beach currently has 22 car dealerships, Planning and Zoning Board member Christina Morrison said during a public meeting.

The proposed Hyundai dealership would be built on a vacant lot that’s remained undeveloped for more than a decade and an adjacent pottery store. The land was purchased for $10 million in January, according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser records. Nearby businesses include Gunther Volkswagen and Gunther Volvo dealerships, a car wash, a home furnishing store, and bicycle shop.

The project would help revive the area and create new employment opportunities, said Bonnie Miskel, an attorney representing the developer, in documents submitted to the city.

Miskel added the dealership would “allow for a multimillion-dollar investment in construction and related costs and the creation of scores of new jobs” as well as an increase in property values.

Planning and Zoning Board member Allen Zeller was in favor of the new dealership, noting that “not a lot has happened” in the area over the past decade.

“That area is blighted,” Zeller said. ”The buildings are old buildings most of them. The only newer development is associated with car dealership and automotive businesses on Federal Highway.”

Board member Joy Howell, who voted against the project, questioned whether another car dealership was the best use of the city’s scarce available land while the city faces a housing shortage.

“I think we’re kind of making the decision as if it’s a choice between a blighted lot and car dealerships,” Howell said. “What if you had a developer who came in and said I want to put townhouses on this big, huge parcel? I mean, developers I know are looking for large in-fill lots if they can find them.

“We already have some townhouse developments on Federal right now and if you had more, that’s when you get restaurants and little retail and walkability. I could see that as a vision for that part of Federal, not going more in the direction of the big, humongous car dealerships.”

The project will go before the City Commission for final approval later this year.

 

Source:  NewsBreak

 

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