Schaumburg approves Fiat, Maserati dealership
Schaumburg trustees this week approved a long awaited expansion of the Zeigler Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership at 208 W. Golf Road to include a Fiat and Maserati dealership as well.
Using land on both sides of the existing dealership that formerly belonged to Barnaby's Family Inn and La Magdalena restaurants, the site will be reconfigured for the construction of a 14,600-square-foot facility that should be completed within three to four months.
While the village is always eager to see new growth in its commercial districts, there's not much else that compares with the economic impact of a car dealership, officials said.
"A new car dealership is always good news," Community Development Director Julie Fitzgerald said. "This is particularly exciting because it's a new dealership we don't have right now."
In fact, Fiat's plans are to have only three dealerships in Illinois, the closest of which is in Highland Park, said Tom Farace, Schaumburg's planning and permits manager.
Though Zeigler Fiat and Maserati is now close to becoming reality, there have been a couple of changes to the plans since they were first presented to the village a few years ago, Farace said.
The original plan was to use only the former Barnaby's site to the east of the current dealership. But shortly after the restaurant closed at the end of 2011, it was apparent that the amount of land there wasn't sufficient, Farace said.
The more recent closing of La Magdalena presented an opportunity for a more westward expansion of the dealership. But the Barnaby's site still will be used for outdoor vehicle storage.
The second and more recent change was to build the new dealership in one phase instead of two, two years apart, Farace said.
The original idea was to build only 7,700 square feet of showroom space and offices in 2014. The 6,900-square-foot service center along the rear of the building would then have been added in 2016.
The change of plan to build the entire development simultaneously was made earlier this month.