Company plans to open Infiniti car dealership in Macon-Bibb County
A new car dealership is planning to join other high-end dealers in north Bibb County near Riverside Drive.
The Chicago-based Ed Napleton Automotive Group plans to build the first Infiniti dealership in Middle Georgia on 3 acres at 4680 Sheraton Drive.
On Monday, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission approved a conditional-use permit to allow auto sales on the property. The company plans to remodel and expand the existing 7,300-square-foot building on the site, the former Jocks & Jills Sports Grill restaurant, which closed in April 2013.
"Everybody is excited something is happening to the old Jocks & Jills," P&Z Chairman Kamal Azar said.
Construction should begin in the spring, Macon architect Gene Dunwody Sr. said at the meeting.
"The building will be substantially modified to reflect the corporate design from Infiniti, and we'll add on about 11,000 to 12,000 square feet (of) additional space," said Dunwody of Dunwody/Beeland Architects.
The dealership, which will include a showroom and service area, is expected to employ about 35 people with a total inventory capacity of up to 130 to 150 new and used cars.
Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Nissan. Its vehicles cost $34,000 to more than $63,000 for a fully equipped SUV, according to Motor Trend magazine online.
Inifinti would join Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Volvo, Mercedes Benz and BMW dealerships in the area.
"It's an automotive center out there," Dunwody said.
P&Z Commissioner Jeane Easom agreed, saying "it's the place to be."
After the meeting, associate broker Jim Rollins with The Summit Group said the dealership "is hoping to open in late fall."
The Napleton company operates more than 35 dealerships in five states and employs more than 1,500 people at its locations in Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri and Georgia, according to its website.
In a separate P&Z matter, a landscape contractor plans to put his business on Hawkinsville Road following approval Monday of his application to rezone the property.
Robert "Greg" Israel Jr., owner of U.S. Lawns Macon-Bibb, applied with P&Z to rezone 6043 Hawkinsville Road from a single-family residential district to a wholesale and light industrial district to allow his landscaping business. U.S. Lawns is a franchise business based in Orlando, Florida.
Israel plans to use an existing house on the 1.3-acre site for a business office, and an existing garage will be used to store equipment for the landscaping business.
Approval of both items was unanimous.
Other items on the agenda were:
CONDITIONAL USES:
534, 540 & 560 Martin Luther King Blvd.: Conditional use to allow a mixed-use development with commercial and multi-family residential uses, CBD-1 District. Chris Clark, Carter & Sloope Inc., applicant. Approved.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS:
534, 540 & 560 Martin Luther King Blvd.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of mixed-use development with commercial and multi-family residential uses. Chris Clark, Carter & Sloope Inc., applicant. Approved.
685 Arlington Place: Certificate of Appropriateness to approve replacement of ramp, HR-3. Shantel King-Whitby, applicant. Approved.
To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223, or follow her on Twitter@MidGaBiz.
This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Company plans to open Infiniti car dealership in Macon-Bibb County ."