Audi Dealership Probably Coming To Mentor After All

Patience appears to have paid off for the city of Mentor.

The city is close to finalizing a deal with Penske Automotive that would have them relocating their Willoughby Audi dealership to Market Street.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Council is scheduled to vote on a land sale to Penske.

If the sale goes through, Penske will build a 22,000-square-foot Audi dealership that would bring about 50 jobs to the city.

The roots for this deal started back when , City Manager Kenneth Filipiak said.

Penske had initially discussed opening an Audi, and maybe even an Infiniti, dealership in the Old Village.

However, while scouting possible locations, the city also recommended an undeveloped plot on Market Street that the city has owned since 2008 when it did a property swap with Laketran.

The property's address is 38845 Market Street. It's bordered by Outback Steakhouse to the west and residential neighborhoods on Mansion Boulevard in Mentor.

The plans for the Old Village site ultimately fell through and .

Meanwhile, the city got the Market Street property appraised, in case Penske was still interested in it.

Once the city learned the lot's value -- about $580,000 -- they approached Penske again.

"They offered $500,000," Filipiak said. "And, after some discussion with Council, we agreed to accept that price if they would commit to building the Audi dealership for that location."

Penske Automotive agreed with the offer and the land sale will be in front of Council Monday.

At the moment, the plan is for construction to begin on the dealership in spring of 2013.

If the progress does not proceed in a timely manner, the city can buy the property back at the same price.

Filipiak said the city and Penske would be attentive to the needs of the Mentor residents who live close to the proposed dealership.

"We found they were a great developer when we worked with them on the Honda site," he said of Penske's cooperativeness.

Filipiak added that the city was excited and looking forward to working with Penske Automotive on the project.

"We look at this as one more piece in our landscape that solidifies ourselves as the premier car marketplace in Northeast Ohio," he said.

City Council's legislation regarding the land sale is attached to this story as a PDF.