City Is in Talks to Bring Two New Car Dealerships to Mentor

Representatives for Penske Automotive Group met with Mentor's Planning Commission, as well as members of its administration and City Council, Thursday to discuss the possibility of bringing a pair of car dealerships to Mentor Avenue.

Jeff Anderson, the director of corporate construction for Penske, proposed a pair of plans to bring Audi to Mentor. In one of these plans, Penske would also add an Infiniti dealership.

The purpose of Thursday's meeting was not to get approval on either plan but to test their viability.

The plan that was discussed the most would take the former Honda dealership in the Old Village neighborhood and remodel it. The used-car portion of the dealership would be completely remodeled into an Audi dealership.

The new-car section could also become an Infiniti dealership in the unspecified future, Anderson said. The service department would not be changed.

However, there is a catch. The proposed Audi dealership would emphasize glass and aluminum in its design, a contemporary look that differs from the traditional feel that the city is trying to cultivate in the Old Village neighborhood.

Anderson said the contemporary look is specified by Audi's international branding.

"Audi has a specific look, high-tech," Anderson said during the meeting Thursday.

Both the city and Penske realize a compromise is necessary for Audi to come to the Old Village neighborhood. Penske will likely have to taper some of its design ideas, and the city will have to allow a conditional-use permit for some ideas that would conflict with the neighborhood's zoning code.

"Essentially, the idea is to have the sites meet code and be like what the manufacturers are looking for," Anderson said.

Neither the city nor Penske planned to strike a final compromise Thursday. Instead, they discussed the proposal to see if a compromise is possible.

"I think we can say without reservation that we want both of these brands doing business within our borders," City Manager Kenneth Filipiak said Thursday.

Penske also proposed another plan that would involve building the Audi dealership on Market Street in an undeveloped lot east of Outback Steakhouse. However, that location may also present some problems because it borders on a residential area.

"I think you'd have a lot of controversy with the neighborhood trying to build on  Market, at least at that location," Planning Commission member Katherine Cimperman said.

Planning Commission member Thomas Huth said he may be in the minority but he thought bringing the Audi business to Mentor would justify the aesthetic differences in the Old Village neighborhood.

"I'd hate to miss an opportunity to put something like that there," Huth said.

Anderson said the Audi dealership would create about 50 jobs and the Infiniti dealership could add another 50.

If the Planning Commission and Penske can come to a mutually agreeable deal for the Old Village site, Penske would be eligible for a sizable tax abatement. The Old Village Neighborhood is a , and businesses building there could receive as much as a 50 percent abatement for 10 years.

No final decisions were made Thursday, and conversations between the city and Penske are ongoing.