SONIC IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
Charlotte, N.C.-based Sonic Automotive has four dealerships in the region:* Economy Honda* Nissan of Chattanooga East* BMW of Chattanooga* Nissan of ClevelandSource: Sonic Automotive
Economy Honda plans to move from its longtime home on the so-called "auto row" off Highway 153 and into a new store at the site of the former East Brainerd Lumber Co. on Lee Highway.
"Our associates deserve better working conditions and our customers deserve a new, updated store," said Jeff Dyke, executive vice president of operations for Sonic Automotive.
Demolition work on old buildings on the vacant 17-acre tract at 6001 Lee Highway already is underway, and plans are to move into construction of a showroom, vehicle service area and offices.
Dyke said the new dealership will have 70,000 square feet of space, including more than 50 service bays.
"It will be a big, brand new store," he said. "Everything will be a heck of a lot updated and fitting with the times. Working conditions will be light years better."
Economy Honda currently is located on a leased site at 2135 Chapman Road off Highway 153. Dyke said that Charlotte, N.C.-based Sonic, one of the nation's largest holders of new-car dealerships with 107 facilities, likes to own its sites.
"It was finding the acreage we could buy and own, and it's getting a new state-of-the-art facility," he said.
According to the Hamilton County Register of Deeds, a company listed as SRE Tennessee 7 LLC, in care of Sonic, bought the tract last month. The purchase price was $3.52 million.
Dyke said the new dealership should open around spring 2019. He declined to say how much the company is investing in the project.
Economy Honda is about 45 years old, according to news archives, and the current site on Chapman Road was built in 1986. It has been owned by Sonic for about 15 years.
The dealership has been a leader in internet sales, and it stockpiles scores of vehicles on its existing lot.
"It's one of our biggest Honda stores," Dyke said. He said Economy Honda sells a growing share of its vehicles via the internet, and that online sales are a big part of Sonic's business structure.
Rives Construction Co. of Birmingham, Ala., is constructing the new dealership on the property that for decades held East Brainerd Lumber Co. before that business closed down several years ago.
"I see us over there as quickly as we can get that store up and get our team and customers using that facility," Dyke said.
He said the new site is close to Capital Toyota and Lexus of Chattanooga and the new Honda store will bring more customer traffic to that area.
Sonic, in addition to Economy Honda, also owns BMW of Chattanooga in East Brainerd as well as Nissan of Chattanooga East in Chattanooga, which it bought in 2014. In 2016, Sonic erected a $9.8 million Nissan dealership in Cleveland, Tenn.
An official for the Acura of Chattanooga dealership next door to Economy Honda, asked about potentially moving onto the current Honda site, said that's not his move to make. Tuan Chu, sales manager at Acura of Chattanooga, said that's a decision by officials higher up the company ladder than himself.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.