The following is a republished press release from a community organization or member and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … to submit community announcements to The Voice, contact us at jalmendarez@ithacavoice.com.
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Related: Is car dealership eyeing Ithaca waterfront?
Clarification: An early headline insinuated that a car dealership would soon be opening near Cayuga Inlet. While plans are in the works to do so, Maguire Family of Dealerships must first go through a process of having the plans approved, modified or rejected by local city officials. That process has not happened yet. We apologize that the headline lacked this context.
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Maguire Family of Dealerships, headquartered at 504 S. Meadow Street, is planning an $18M investment in the City of Ithaca to upgrade its existing facilities and build a brand new, state-of-the-art, green dealership on Route 13, between Cascadilla and 3rd Streets.
Phase I of the project, scheduled for 2016, will consist of relocating Maguire’s Ford, Lincoln, Nissan store from its current 504 S. Meadow St. location to a new 50,000-square-foot facility in the Carpenter Business Park. This new dealership will include three showrooms, green roof garden lounge and observation deck overlooking Cayuga Lake, café, back wall fully wrapped with Boston Ivy, dense plantings of hardwood trees, shrubs and perennials with the infusion of rock and natural stone on different levels.
Green design features include rainwater harvesting for washing cars, watering plants and flushing toilets; solar charging station for electric cars; solar panel arrays for renewable electrical energy to power the building; porous asphalt, concrete and pavers to dissipate heat buildup; below ground infiltration/detention basins and rain gardens/bioretention filters.
It is expected that these features will earn the building LEED Gold Certification as granted by the U.S. Green Building Council. Maguire has a track record with commitment to renewable energy and green design. It plans to have all its dealerships LEED certified within the next five years.
According to a Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) Economic Impact Report dated January 29, 2016, this new dealership offers positive development on a site underutilized due to a variety of physical constraints, including an existing electrical substation, overhead electric transmission lines, indirect vehicular access and railroad tracks.
The Maguire property provides an opportunity to develop this parcel in an attractive manner thanks to many unique design features.
In addition, other community and economic benefits include complimentary parking for the Community Gardens and the Ithaca Farmers Market, new property and sales tax revenue for the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County and additional jobs and wages. Maguire plans to increase its workforce by nearly 60.
Phase II, scheduled for 2017, calls for renovation and upgrades of the current Ford, Lincoln, Nissan location at 504 S. Meadow St. It will become the new home of Maguire Hyundai, Subaru once complete. In Phase III (2018), Maguire Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat will expand onto the former Hyundai, Subaru site.
“Reinvestment is critical to maintain existing levels of business and meet increasing demand,” said Phil Maguire, President, Maguire Family of Dealerships. “We’ve assembled an outstanding local design team of Schickel Architecture; TG Miller, P.C. Engineers & Surveyors; and Trowbridge, Wolf, Michaels Landscape Architects to construct an Ithaca-inspired dealership worthy of the Inlet District and consistent with the newly completed, comprehensive plan Enterprise District designation for this parcel.”
Maguire added, “Maguire Family of Dealerships is typically not what people expect from car retailing. We work hard to be good neighbors, give back to the community and operate facilities people are proud to visit, work at, look at and buy from.”
Founded in 1977, Maguire Family of Dealerships is the number one retailer in Tompkins County and 11th largest employer with a staff of 426. Auto retailing represents 16% of the New York State economy. Maguire purchased the Carpenter Business Park property in October 2015.
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