Auto dealer seeks still more room, on other side of Ogden
A Naperville auto dealership is investing millions of dollars to move -- across the street.
Dan Wolf Toyota at 1515 W. Ogden Ave. is seeking city approval to build a new facility directly across the road from its current site.
Wolf purchased the three parcels that make up nearly 25 acres of vacant farmland on the east side of Ogden Avenue. He received unanimous approval from the city's plan commission to consolidate and rezone the parcels into two lots last week. The proposal calls for a larger 20-acre site to the north to house the dealership and a five-acre parcel to the south to remain vacant for the time being.
"We've run out of space here," Wolf said. "About 2½ years ago, we built a new Lexus store on Aurora Avenue, and we thought by taking over both buildings, we'd have adequate space for Toyota, but unfortunately that lasted about six months."
Combined, the current dealership covers eight acres. The new site will be more than twice the size.
"Everything will be bigger," Wolf said.
Residents of the adjacent Whispering Hills neighborhood have supported the proposal after several meetings with Wolf and developers.
"They have been very cognizant of the residential area and have included plans for a berm, fencing and reduced lighting," said Amy Emery, a community planner for the city. "The code was updated a couple years ago to be very restrictive for auto dealerships' lighting requirements, and this proposal would more than meet those requirements."
Emery said several neighbors spoke in favor of the proposal last week.
"We have tried to accommodate every request the neighbors have made," Wolf said. "We went through some neighbor issues when we built the Lexus dealership, and we just wanted to be proactive this time around."
He said he hopes to open the new dealership before 2009. The proposal could be in front of the council as early as Oct. 15, officials said.
Wolf also recently bought the city's Chevrolet franchise from Horizon Chevrolet. Once the new Toyota dealership is built, he will remodel the buildings at the old Toyota site and move the Chevrolet dealership there.
It's unknown what might become of the current Horizon Chevrolet building.
Wolf's dealership isn't the only one playing hopscotch along Naperville's expansive auto dealership corridor. Bill Jacobs BMW is planning a move from Ogden and Jefferson avenues to Aurora Avenue and Fort Hill Drive. That proposal is still working its way through city hall, Bill Jacobs' officials said.