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McBride Subaru plan approved
PLATTSBURGH, Nov 26, 2009 (The Press-Republican - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Plans for a new home for Bill McBride Subaru have received conditional approval from the City of Plattsburgh Planning Board.
Bill McBride Chevrolet Subaru Vice President Brian McBride said the company hopes to break ground in mid-December.
They are getting together with local contractors to go over bid proposals this week and meeting with a number of banks to finalize financing for the project.
"Everything's moving along, and we're excited," McBride said.
The 12,600-square-foot dealership is to be built on the north side of the property. It will include 3,500 square feet of showroom and office space.
The drive-in service area will lead to a 10-bay service and repair shop, with radiant heat from a waste-oil boiler.
The building will include a customer lounge area with wireless Internet, flat-screen televisions, an electric fireplace and coffee bar.
McBride said a 4-inch conduit will run from the existing dealership to the new building for its communications equipment.
"I want to be able to use my existing communications infrastructure."
The need to split the two dealerships came about as a result of the General Motors bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year. McBride said GM couldn't previously force them to split the dealerships because of New York franchise laws.
He said GM told the court it needed to split the dealerships to help strengthen the Chevrolet brand image, and the court agreed.
The dealership had to sign a letter that it would separate the two or its Chevrolet franchise would not have been part of the GM group that emerged from bankruptcy.
The deadline given was Dec. 31, but McBride said he believes they will be able to extend that as long as they are making substantial progress on the split.
"It's an opportune time for us (to do this)," McBride said.
He said the Subaru side of the business has been strong even during these difficult economic times.
Once the Subaru dealership is finished, plans call for renovations to what will then be a stand-alone Chevrolet dealership. He said GM has some money to help with that, but it isn't available until Subaru is out of the building.
The plans were provided by Al Sweenor of North Country Engineering and Planning. The previously approved subdivision was mapped by AES Northeast.
McBride said he plans to install a Web cam so people can follow the construction process online at www.plattsburgh.com and www.billmcbride.com.
E-mail Dan Heath at: dheath@pressrepublican.com
To see more of The Press-Republican or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.pressrepublican.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Press-Republican,
Plattsburgh, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
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