The City of Carlsbad has been working on a number of initiatives with Car Country Carlsbad to help ensure this critical economic engine continues to thrive.
Over the past 38 years, Car Country Carlsbad has become one of San Diego County's best known and most successful auto sales parks. It is also an important economic engine for the city, generating considerable sales taxes for Carlsbad that help pay for important city services, such as police and fire protection, parks, and libraries.
In the most recent 12-month period for which data is available (April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010), Car Country Carlsbad generated nearly $4 million in sales tax revenue for the City of Carlsbad, which represents 19.46 percent of the city's total sales tax revenue for that same period.
In spite of the difficult economic times that have claimed auto dealerships across the United States and in California, Car Country Carlsbad is fully occupied, and many of its dealerships have plans to significantly remodel and expand their facilities.
Major projects planned
When Worthington Dodge pulled out of the auto center earlier this year, Hoehn Motors quickly secured the property with the intent of establishing a new Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, a dealership they had been trying to find a location for in Carlsbad for several years.
Since September, the new dealership has been operating out of temporary facilities on the site while the company prepares for construction of a complete remodel and upgrade to the old Worthington Dodge dealership building, a project that received city approval in August. While all this was occurring, Hoehn Motors also acquired the Rorick Buick-Cadillac dealership and is now operating as Hoehn Buick-Cadillac. In addition, the Weseloh Auto Group recently established a new Kia dealership in the recently vacant Weseloh Hummer building.
With these changes, the Car Country Carlsbad roster will now include Weseloh Chevrolet, Weseloh Kia, North County GMC, Ken Grody Ford, Hoehn Buick-Cadillac, Scion Carlsbad, Toyota Carlsbad, Lexus Carlsbad, Bob Baker Volkswagen-Subaru, Hoehn Jaguar-Land Rover, Hoehn Honda, Hoehn Acura; Hoehn Audi, Hoehn Infinity, North County Hyundai, Hoehn Mercedes-Benz, Bob Baker Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, and on Avenida Encinas, Hoehn Porsche and Carlsbad Volvo.
Other projects are also in the works. Hoehn Mercedes-Benz is planning a 2,930-square-foot addition and complete showroom remodel. Bob Baker Volkswagen-Subaru is planning to remodel their Volkswagen showroom and add a new 2,000-square-foot showroom for the Subaru dealership. They are also adding a 400-square-foot service writer booth, which both dealerships will share.
The City of Carlsbad is working closely with the Car Country Carlsbad businesses on all of these projects, ensuring all the needed paperwork and approvals are completed quickly, so they can get on with business.
Car Country Carlsbad improvements working group
In addition to the current activity at Car County Carlsbad, efforts are underway to create a longer term plan for supporting our local auto dealerships. Building on last year's successful efforts to partner with the development community on improvements to the development review process, the City Council directed staff to initiate a similar collaborative process with the Car Country Carlsbad businesses.
After a series of productive meetings, participants developed four areas of focus for future improvements:
• Traffic and safety
• Signage
• General appearance
• Potential updates to the specific plan that governs development within Car Country Carlsbad.
Over the next few months, city staff will complete a report to the City Council on the group's work and seek direction on the next steps. A thriving auto mall is good for local business and good for the city. We are looking forward to continuing our joint efforts to maximize the success of Car Country Carlsbad.
Over the past 38 years, Car Country Carlsbad has become one of San Diego County's best known and most successful auto sales parks. It is also an important economic engine for the city, generating considerable sales taxes for Carlsbad that help pay for important city services, such as police and fire protection, parks, and libraries.
In the most recent 12-month period for which data is available (April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010), Car Country Carlsbad generated nearly $4 million in sales tax revenue for the City of Carlsbad, which represents 19.46 percent of the city's total sales tax revenue for that same period.
In spite of the difficult economic times that have claimed auto dealerships across the United States and in California, Car Country Carlsbad is fully occupied, and many of its dealerships have plans to significantly remodel and expand their facilities.
Major projects planned
When Worthington Dodge pulled out of the auto center earlier this year, Hoehn Motors quickly secured the property with the intent of establishing a new Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, a dealership they had been trying to find a location for in Carlsbad for several years.
Since September, the new dealership has been operating out of temporary facilities on the site while the company prepares for construction of a complete remodel and upgrade to the old Worthington Dodge dealership building, a project that received city approval in August. While all this was occurring, Hoehn Motors also acquired the Rorick Buick-Cadillac dealership and is now operating as Hoehn Buick-Cadillac. In addition, the Weseloh Auto Group recently established a new Kia dealership in the recently vacant Weseloh Hummer building.
With these changes, the Car Country Carlsbad roster will now include Weseloh Chevrolet, Weseloh Kia, North County GMC, Ken Grody Ford, Hoehn Buick-Cadillac, Scion Carlsbad, Toyota Carlsbad, Lexus Carlsbad, Bob Baker Volkswagen-Subaru, Hoehn Jaguar-Land Rover, Hoehn Honda, Hoehn Acura; Hoehn Audi, Hoehn Infinity, North County Hyundai, Hoehn Mercedes-Benz, Bob Baker Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep, and on Avenida Encinas, Hoehn Porsche and Carlsbad Volvo.
Other projects are also in the works. Hoehn Mercedes-Benz is planning a 2,930-square-foot addition and complete showroom remodel. Bob Baker Volkswagen-Subaru is planning to remodel their Volkswagen showroom and add a new 2,000-square-foot showroom for the Subaru dealership. They are also adding a 400-square-foot service writer booth, which both dealerships will share.
The City of Carlsbad is working closely with the Car Country Carlsbad businesses on all of these projects, ensuring all the needed paperwork and approvals are completed quickly, so they can get on with business.
Car Country Carlsbad improvements working group
In addition to the current activity at Car County Carlsbad, efforts are underway to create a longer term plan for supporting our local auto dealerships. Building on last year's successful efforts to partner with the development community on improvements to the development review process, the City Council directed staff to initiate a similar collaborative process with the Car Country Carlsbad businesses.
After a series of productive meetings, participants developed four areas of focus for future improvements:
• Traffic and safety
• Signage
• General appearance
• Potential updates to the specific plan that governs development within Car Country Carlsbad.
Over the next few months, city staff will complete a report to the City Council on the group's work and seek direction on the next steps. A thriving auto mall is good for local business and good for the city. We are looking forward to continuing our joint efforts to maximize the success of Car Country Carlsbad.