Five automotive dealerships covering 50 acres. An initial inventory worth more than $25 million. Nameplates such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Sound like the auto sales district in fashionable West Palm Beach, Hollywood or Palm Springs? Of course. But just off I-485 on the thin asphalt line of Alexanderana Road that separates north Charlotte from Huntersville?
Absolutely.
About a decade ago, automotive sales and NASCAR magnate Rick Hendrick identified this otherwise unremarkable strip of land across Alexanderana from North Mecklenburg High School as the site for an “auto mall” of five dealerships. The northernmost leg of the I-485 loop around Charlotte was still in the engineering phase, but the promise of that regional access and the emerging upscale demographic of the Lake Norman region drew the Hendrick Automotive Group to the area.
Despite the seeming overnight success of the Hendrick brand, things in the automotive retail business don’t really happen that quickly, especially when working to convince the most prestigious of brands to bestow yet another outlet for their vehicles in a single market. So just as earth-moving equipment is grading a path for the completion of the final 5.7-mile leg of I-485, bulldozers and front-end loaders are preparing the adjacent site, and the first walls of the initial three dealerships are taking shape.
“Mr. Hendrick has great vision and, as a North Carolina native and Charlotte resident for a long time, he noticed over the years the rapid growth of the lake area and how it was connecting with Charlotte,” says Hendrick Automotive Group Vice President and Executive General Manager John Desmond. “Just as we do in other parts of the country, when he saw this as an opportunity, he purchased the property years ago in preparation for what is taking place now.”
What is taking place is the construction of the first three of the five dealerships, which will be satellite stores of Hendrick BMW, Hendrick Motors of Charlotte (Mercedes-Benz) and Hendrick Lexus of Charlotte. That means inventory allotments and sales data are shared between each pair of dealership locations. Each of the three dealerships will be independent of one another with its own, dedicated 40,000-square-foot showroom and service department. They are expected to open in about nine months. The remaining two dealerships on the “campus” are currently in the business development phase.
“This is a huge vote of confidence by these luxury brands and we are excited about it,” says Desmond. “There hasn’t been that much positive news lately, and this is a huge positive piece in our region. Our employees are very excited about it and our management is very excited about it.“
Desmond describes the awarding of the franchises by the manufacturers as a vote of confidence not only in Hendrick Automotive, but also the local market because of the standards they apply when analyzing the viability of a new location. And prior to diving in with the land acquisition and again on construction, the company also performed its own due diligence. Desmond says Hendrick executives liked what they saw.
“The current ownership base between the three dealerships is between 60,000 and 80,000 customers of BMW, Mercedes and Lexus who live in the Charlotte area,” says Desmond. “We know about 25 percent of our current owners who service and buy from us in greater Charlotte live in north Charlotte and the Lake Norman area. ... That was a big reason for us focusing on that area.”
Desmond adds that the company also tracked population growth and demographics in the region, as well as the industrial and commercial growth stretching from Lincoln to Cabarrus counties — and all of north Mecklenburg in between.
Easy access
The resumed construction of I-485 to complete the final leg between N.C. 115 and I-85 near the University City area also played a role in the timing of the construction of the Hendrick Auto Mall. That last piece will provide considerably better access to what has been an isolated part of the county, particularly from Gaston and Cabarrus counties. The leg between N.C. 115 and N.C. 16 opened about three years ago, providing more convenient access from southern Huntersville to I-85 northwest of Charlotte.
The final leg will do the same between here and the northeast side of the metropolitan area. Desmond says completing the loop around Charlotte was vital to opening the auto mall next year. The completion of I-485 is scheduled for December 2014.
The Hendrick Auto Mall adds to the mounting synergy in southern Huntersville/northern Charlotte. A stone’s throw across the intersection of Alexanderana Road and N.C. 115 is the burgeoning Bryton development, and just a mile north, the construction of energy component giant ABB’s manufacturing facility, with its signature 430-foot tower, is well under way in Commerce Station.
The Auto Mall’s traffic pattern will be much like that of a shopping mall with, Desmond says, an entrance and exit off Alexanderana Road and another off N.C. 115. Internally, the street network will provide customers with access to the individual dealerships.
Desmond says Hendrick Automotive has similar auto malls in other parts of the country, including Kansas City, Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill. In all, the company now operates 72 dealerships representing 27 nameplates, 101 franchises and 20 collision centers in 12 states, mostly in the Southeast. In 2010, Hendrick Automotive retail vehicle sales exceeded 107,000
units, generating $4.4 billion in revenue. The company employs more than 6,500.
“We feel very good about where we selected (for the company’s next auto mall) and that has a lot to do with Mr. Hendrick interacting with the leaders of Charlotte and the region to determine where opportunities lie,” says Desmond. “And not only that, also where property is available.
“That those brands have said that Charlotte can support two locations in the same market,” he adds, “is a huge statement for the Charlotte market.”
